The Messiah Complex
by StarKnight2.0
Summary: Sequel to Black Light. Five Years have passed since the outbreak and New York has rebuilt itself. Alex Mercer is dead and the world is at peace. But a powerful new enemy arises and threatens to destroy the world. Heroes, new and old, unite to stop him. But the enemy has new allies and it is turning old friends against our heroes. Will they defeat Pariah? or will they fall? Complete
1. Ch 1 The Dead of Night

**(a/n: Well here we go. chapter 1 of part 2. enjoy)**

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Ch.1 The Dead of Night

Dana Mercer opened the door to her apartment, letting in the chilly autumn air into her apartment and she entered the dark hallway.

She hung her black jacket on the coat hanger by the door "I'm home!" she called out but she got no response.

Dana flipped on the light switch to illuminate her small home.

It was cramped. It had a small kitchen, a living room, one bedroom, a closet and a bathroom. Dana discovered a small note taped to the fridge.

She plucked it off the fridge and read it.

"_Out of groceries, be back soon- Sam, P.S Left you something in the fridge, Happy anniversary!"_

Dana smiled and placed the note on the counter. She opened the fridge and studied its contents. There was only a case of her favorite beer and a large piece of cake.

Dana's smile widened "Thanks Sammy" she pulled out the cake and a bottle of beer, she closed the door and went into the small living room.

She plopped down on the small sofa, kicked her feet up on the small coffee table and flipped on the flat screen TV with the remote.

After a long day of working at the Blue Paradise Casino, Dana always returned home to her boyfriend Samuel Caldwell making dinner or asleep on the sofa due to a long day of working at the aerospace lab across town but this was the anniversary of their first date, he would usually arrive home later in the night after doing whatever he dose.

The only things on TV at this time of night were infomercials, re-runs of old television shows and the news.

Dana stopped on the news, on the screen was a blond anchorwoman woman with blue eyes "…_In other news the Justice League is celebrating the anniversary of its founding, we go live to with our man on the scene, James Howell" _the images changed to a red haired man standing in a spacious hall that had massive golden statues behind him and rows of glass cases "_Thanks Sarah, we are here at the Hall of Justice, where-" _but Dana just tuned the reporter out.

The cake lost all its sweet taste and Dana's hand gripped the arm of the sofa tightly.

Five years ago she had believed that the Justice League were heroes just like everyone else on the planet but after the outbreak in New York, she had grown to hate them.

Dana's brother Alex was blamed for the outbreak but he and the Justice League found proof that he wasn't entirely responsible for it.

When the outbreak had ended, people began looking for those responsible to focus their rage on and that person was Alex.

The nation slandered Alex relentlessly, turning him into a terrorist. True he did some horrible things but he did it to survive and to protect Dana. At first Dana thought the Justice League would present the evidence and clear Alex's name but they just sat there and did nothing.

Dana tried to contact them and ask why didn't they prove his innocence but they just ignored her.

In the end she became fed up with the constant harassment of the media and the League's silent treatment, so she packed up and moved west till she settled in a small dank apartment in Las Vegas.

Dana had changed her name so no one would annoy her with questions and accusations about her brother.

After a few years she ran into Samuel Caldwell, the super soldier formally apart of BlackWatch.

After the funeral for Elizabeth and Alex, they parted ways. But a few years later they ran into each other in the street. After a while they started dating and on the anniversary marking the end of the outbreak, they would get together with Ragland, Cross or Heller and they would have a little dinner to remember Alex.

Dana decided to play a game, she would take a swig of beer every time the reporter praised the Justice League or at least mentioned their name. She had emptied the one bottle within a minute and pulled out another, the reporter walked through the Hall of Justice pointing out most of the exhibits and he pointed one out that made Dana's blood boil.

The reporter was standing in front of a glass case that had a large piece of misshapen grey metal.

The edges of the metal were melted and blackened, beneath it was a blurry photo of Alex standing atop a mound of slain hunters with his bloodstained blade arm held high "_-and the latest addition to the Hall of Justice's displays, is a piece from of the _USS Reagan, _the same ship Alex Mercer destroyed in his rampage on New York. This is piece is a reminder of one of the darkest events in the history of our country" _

Dana growled at the TV "If it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be a hall of justice, there wouldn't be anything"

the reporter just continued on _"This piece and a few others mementos of the outbreak will be on display to the public for the duration of the anniversary celebration. Back to you Sarah" _and the camera cut back to the studio.

Dana just downed the beer in her hand till it was empty she tossed the empty bottle aside and opened another, she raised her drink in a toast saying sarcastically "Long live the Justice League" she heard the door open then close.

Without looking up from the tv she just waved "Hey Sammy, how was work?"

"Fine" came the reply from all the way from down the hall.

Dana frowned, the voice sounded different. It sounded like Caldwell's voice but it also sounded a little like a low growl mixed with sandpaper but Dana just shrugged.

She heard soft footfalls approach "Anything good on?" asked the voice

"Nope" grumbled Dana "nothing but shit" she flipped the channel to another station.

On the screen was a blond man in a blue suit, sitting at a news desk "_-and welcome back, for those of you just joining us, this is G. Gordon Godfrey with my coverage of the Justice League anniversary celebration" _the man's brow creased "_I mean really, do we need to celebrate them? I know that they do a lot for the public and I applaud them for that, but recently I have been having some doubts. I mean with the recent attack on the UN and with the recent discovery of little aliens masquerading as humans, I seriously doubt the League's credibility. How do we know that they are being entirely truthful with the public?" _he leaned forward, closer to the camera "_How do we know that they are on our side?"_

"Amen, Godfrey" mumbled Dana.

She felt a hand on her shoulder "you look tired" said the voice softly

"I do?" said Dana

"Yes, you should rest" said the voice.

Dana nodded "Yeah I should" she looked up at the owner of the hand and a chill ran through her. The hand belonged to a tall, slim figure whose face was covered by a shabby hood.

The stranger tightened his grip on Dana's shoulder "Who are you?" demanded Dana

"A friend" said the intruder as he leaned in closer to Dana's face.

Dana squirmed in his grip but she was held in place "G-get away!" the intruders eyes gleamed in the faint light from the television

"Sleep" soothed the intruder. A sweet scent invaded Dana's nostrils, causing her eyes to grow drowsy. Dana's limbs grew heavy and the whole world grew dark.

As she slipped into unconsciousness, she saw the hooded intruder smile and said in a soothing tone "Don't fret, just sleep and dream of better times" then she finally faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

Pariah draped Dana over his shoulder, carefully not to wake her.

The new ability he gained worked, he was able to knock her out without so much of a fuss.

He strolled out of the small apartment, carefully stepping over the unconscious form of Samuel Caldwell outside the door muttering "Don't worry Dana, when you awake you will be among family and you will take your proper place among us".

* * *

James Heller sat out on the porch of his house staring up at the stars.

James held a picture of his wife and daughter in his hands.

He sighed, "I miss you Colette" he glanced up at the sky "more then ever". James Heller heard nothing but crickets and the sounds of a soft breeze.

After he had put his daughter to sleep, he would usually sit out on the porch and contemplate things.

After the outbreak James and his daughter, Amaya, moved to California to get away from the bad memories of the outbreak. For a while they had lived in peace but lately James had been feeling a little restless.

Something made him feel on edge but he couldn't put his finger on it. James stood and he went back inside to get a beer.

When he entered the kitchen he heard glass shatter and Maya scream.

James grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and rushed to Maya's room.

He burst through the door and he saw standing there was a slim figure wearing all black with a hood obscuring the intruders face.

Maya was draped over the intruder's shoulder, unconscious "Maya!" exclaimed James.

The intruder turned to face James, the intruder's eyes glowed a faintly.

James noticed long strands of black hair hanging out of the hood "Whoever the hell you are, put my daughter down and get the hell out of my house!" growled James.

The intruder just turned away and began approaching the window. James lunged with the knife, the blade sunk into the intruder but the intruder just seemed unfazed. The intruder just turned and swatted James with one arm, sending him flying across the room.

James hit the wall and slid to the floor. James's got back up, wincing in pain and he saw that the intruder and Maya were gone.

James went to the window, he looked around and saw nothing, the intruder was long gone.

James's thoughts raced through his head. That intruder was no regular intruder, they were completely unaffected by a knife wound and they escaped quickly. There was a sick feeling in his gut that made him uneasy. There was more to this than a simple kidnapping.

Whoever they were, they weren't human and they only wanted Amaya. He clenched his fist and promised himself that no matter what, he will find Maya and kill whoever took his daughter.

* * *

In New York dawn was approaching and Pariah stood atop the old ruined hive that was once used by Elizabeth Greene.

He admired his mother's handy work and he was proud to be continuing her work. He glanced back at the unconscious form of Dana Mercer and he saw his associate deposit the unconscious body of Amaya Heller beside her

"Any trouble?" asked Pariah.

His associate shook her head "Nope but he did see me and tried to stop me"

"Doesn't matter" said Pariah dismissively "Its too late for anyone to interfere".

The two stood on the edge of the roof, the woman looked to Pariah in shock "you mean?"

Pariah nodded "Yes, it all begins" he waved his hand out towards the city "Now".

As soon as the word had left his lips, columns of dark black and red smoke arose and began to blanket a small section of the city. Car alarms went off, coughs and screams could be heard all across pre-dawn New York.

The two watched as the sun slowly rose over the dark New York skyline "With the dawn" said Pariah triumphantly "Comes the first steps towards Paradise".

End of Chapter

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**(a/n: So what do you think? well its not much but its a start. Review and whatever)**


	2. Ch 2 Nightmare Revisited

**(a/n: sorry for the wait but here you are, a brand new chapter. I just want to say sorry that its short and stuff but i just had to get this out of the way)**

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Ch.2: Nightmare Revisited

The Zeta tubes activated and deposited the Young Justice team members, both new and old into the cave.

Over the course of five years, their ranks had swelled and they had gained new members. Those new members were Blue Beatle, Beast Boy, Bumblebee, Lagoon Boy, Wonder Girl, Batgirl and Mal Duncan.

They had recently been on a mission with the Justice League to strike the Zeta platforms of the Kroloteans and it had been a success.

The Kroloteans were a race of alien thieves that had been kidnapping people and stealing technology from earth.

After the destruction of the final Zeta platform, Batman had recalled them to Mount Justice.

Once the last member of the team emerged from the Zeta tube, they noticed standing in the center of the main hall were Batman and two men that were unfamiliar to most of the team.

Batman looked about the team "Glad you could make it" said Batman "I'm sure that most of you are wondering who these two men are" he gestured to one man "This is Lieutenant Samuel Caldwell, super soldier and formally part of BlackWatch"

"Hey guys" he waved a little "Good to see you again"

"Like wise" said Nightwing.

Batman gestured to the other "This is Sergeant James Heller"

"Hello" said Heller.

Beast boy asked "So what's the meeting about?"

Batman glanced at Beast boy and sighed "This" he pressed a button on a holographic keypad and a large screen appeared. On the screen was a news reporter standing in a crowded street with hundreds of people rushing back and forth "_-first cases had been appearing early this morning after the wave of smoke. Hospitals have been filled to capacity with new cases and even more are flooding in. The military and CDC have cordoned off a section of New York where the infection is strongest"_

Batman hit a button muting the sound "There has been another outbreak in New York and the virus is similar to the one from the original outbreak"

Everyone's eyes widened "How?" asked Robin

"According to witness accounts, there were clouds of strange chemicals that infected a section of New York" explained Batman "Nobody knows where the chemical clouds came from but some eyewitness accounts claimed to have seen some Infected like Walkers and Hunters moving through the smoke"

"Probably some from the last outbreak" guessed Caldwell "BlackWatch couldn't keep tabs on the infected hives because there were too many and they didn't have the man power to hunt that many infected".

Miss Martian frowned "But what dose this have to do with Samuel and James?"

Batman nodded to Samuel and James "I'll let them explain".

Caldwell stepped forward and cleared his throat "A few nights ago, before this outbreak, Dana and Maya were kidnapped" Most of the young heroes looked confused but the original members of the team gasped

"What? Who did this?" asked Nightwing

Caldwell shrugged "I don't know. I was heading back to my apartment and I could sense that Dana was there but suddenly this shadow jumped me and I woke up a day later covered in snow and Dana was long gone"

James added "Same here, except I heard an intruder break into Maya's room and I confronted him but he escaped"

"Did you get a good look?" asked Nightwing.

James shook his head "Not really, the intruder had his face covered pretty well".

Beast Boy spoke up "Uh who are you guys talking about?"

"Dana Mercer, sister of Alex Mercer and Amaya, my daughter" said Heller.

All the young heroes gapped "Wait Alex Mercer?" said Blue Beetle, incredulously "As in the terrorist who killed all those soldiers and civilians and almost destroyed New York. I didn't think that monster had family"

"Hey!" growled Caldwell, jabbing a threatening finger at Blue Beetle "If I were you, I'd choose my next words carefully. Alex was my friend and he died saving the world, trying showing some respect" Everyone looked at the super soldier in confusion.

Batman explained "Contrary to popular belief, Alex Mercer was a hero, not a terrorist"

"What?" exclaimed all the new heroes.

Batman explained in great detail. Alex Mercer was working at Gentek, a pharmaceutical company under contract by the military to create biological weapons. Alex was part of a team of scientist and researchers who were recreating a very powerful virus called the Black Light virus and they were successful. But due to a security leak members of the research team were being killed off, until Alex was all that remained.

Alex gathered up his research and a sample of the virus and tried to take it to the authorities to expose Gentek's dark secret but he was cornered in Penn Station and was killed. Thus releasing the virus upon the human population.

Batman went on to explain that the Black Light virus was a weapon of the military organization BlackWatch. He explained that BlackWatch used it on Hope, a small town in Idaho to test its ability to target and eliminate various racial types. But the experiment went horribly wrong. It killed indiscriminately, mutated the townspeople into infected monsters and BlackWatch had to destroy everything in the town.

But they found a girl named Elizabeth Greene, she was the only person unaffected by the virus. They learned that she absorbed the virus and it changed her, turning her into something inhuman. She had an effect on the infected that made them obey her. Before the town was leveled, a squad of BlackWatch soldiers captured Elizabeth and something codenamed Pariah, and locked them away for years.

Gentek was built around the research done on Elizabeth and Pariah. They studied them for years and tried to find ways to turn them into weapons. Eventually, during the first outbreak she escaped with the help of Alex Mercer. Towards the end of the outbreak, she and Alex fought against each other on the _USS Reagan_. Elizabeth tried to stop the nuke General Randall was using to destroy New York and the infected. She planned to spread the infection to the world but Alex managed to distract her long enough that the Nuke went off and destroyed them both.

The entire cave was silent. Blue Beatle spoke in a quiet voice "I can't believe it"

"If he's a hero, then why is everyone calling him a terrorist?" asked Beast boy.

Batman said quietly "A few days after the end of the outbreak, somebody went to the media and told them that Alex was responsible for everything"

"What!" exclaimed Bumblebee

"What kind of coward would do such a thing?" asked Lagoon Boy.

Batman shook head "No one knows, the tip came from an unknown source".

Caldwell coughed "Getting off topic"

"Right" nodded Batman.

He turned to the young heroes "With League tied down hunting the Kroloteans, you will have to help the military maintain order in New York" Batman gestured to Caldwell and Heller "These gentlemen will accompany you"

"Why?" asked Wonder Girl.

"We have experience with outbreaks" said Caldwell

"And we know New York like the back of our hands" added Heller "And whoever kidnapped Dana and Maya, they may be linked to this outbreak".

All the young heroes nodded in agreement "When do we leave?" asked Nightwing

"In a few hours" said Batman.

Batman dismissed them and everyone scrambled to get ready.

* * *

Somewhere in the Red Zone of New York, Dana Mercer awoke to a world of pain.

Her head throbbed and her neck ached like it was about to snap in half. She sat up from the cool, carpeted floor and took in her surroundings.

Dana saw that she was in a spacious office. The office was larger then her apartment. The walls were plain grey and were covered with old framed photos and documents. She looked around and saw a large, expensive wooden desk in front of a wide window.

Dana approached the window and she saw that the window gave her a view the sprawling city of New York.

The city lay far beneath her, her eyes scanned the horizon and saw all sorts of aircraft moving around in the distance.

Dana muttered "What the hell?"

"You're awake" said a raspy voice.

She turned and saw standing there was a slim figure in a tatter grey hoodie and jeans.

It was the intruder who broke into her apartment and kidnapped her. The figure tilted his head to one side "Slept well?" he asked coolly as he approached her.

Dana backed away stuttering "S-stay back!" she reached into her pockets trying to find a weapon but found nothing.

Her kidnapper held up his hands "Take it easy, I'm not going to hurt you" "Yeah right" scoffed Dana.

Her back hit the window, her captor approached her slowly "Its ok" reached into his pocked. Dana closed her eyes and waited for pain but she heard her captor said softly "Here" she opened her eyes and saw in his outstretched hand was a bar of chocolate.

She looked at the bar of candy suspiciously then to her kidnapper "Its not poisoned if that's what you're thinking" Dana just kept staring at the bar of chocolate.

Her kidnapper sighed, "Ugh, ok then" he tore off a part of the wrapper and broke off a small piece then tossed the piece into his mouth.

He handed it to Dana "here, its breakfast" Dana accepted the candy bar cautiously.

She broke a small piece off and tossed it into her mouth.

After accepting the fact that the chocolate wasn't poisoned Dana mumbled "Thanks"

"No problem" said her kidnapper, bashfully.

He sat down on the desk saying "I would've gotten you something better but its hard to get across the barriers without the guards noticing"

"Guards? Barriers?" said Dana, a look of confusion appeared on her face.

Her kidnapper looked up at her "Oh, right you weren't awake for that" he frowned "Sorry about that, I tried to wake you up earlier but you were pretty out of it"

"What are you talking about?" asked Dana.

Her kidnapper sighed, "There has been another outbreak of the Black Light virus here in New York"

"What!" exclaimed Dana "How?"

the kidnapper rubbed his neck "I, uh, did it"

"You what!" Dana exclaimed again, this time her voice was louder "Why would you do that? Do you know how dangerous that virus is?" she stopped herself "Wait a moment, how do you know its real name?".

Nobody knew the virus's real name, save for Dana, Caldwell, the Justice League and everyone else involved stopping it the first time. The rest of the world just called it the Mercer Virus.

The kidnapper said softly "I helped your brother make it"

"You knew Alex?" said Dana, sounding surprised.

Her kidnapper nodded "Yes, he was my friend. My only friend in Gentek"

"What did you do at Gentek?" asked Dana.

Her kidnapper went silent and said nothing for a few moments till, finally he said shamefully, "I was their prisoner, they experimented on me and my mother" Dana frowned and said softly "Sorry"

He just shrugged saying "Its ok".

Dana sort of felt sorry for the stranger, even though he kidnapped her and released the Black Light virus again.

Dana coughed "So, what's you're name?" her kidnapper scratched his head "Can't remember, they wiped my mind and gave me a new one"

"Which is?" asked Dana and he answered "Pariah"

Dana nodded "Ok Pariah, why did you kidnap me?" Pariah fixed Dana a serious look.

She saw his dark eyes gleam in the shadow of his hood. Pariah took a deep breath and said in a serious tone "To save the world".

Dana's only response was an incredulous look on her face and she spoke only one word "What?".

End of chapter.

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**(a/n: well there you go. please review and all that.)**


	3. Ch 3: The Kindness of Strangers

**(a/n: here you go. enjoy and review!)**

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Ch.3: The Kindness of Strangers

Colonel Douglas Rooks sat in his office, shuffling through enormous stacks of papers that were on his desk.

It had been three days since the second outbreak had started but that didn't stop the tidal wave of reports, requisition forms and memos. Ever since he had taken command of BlackWatch, the Colonel has had one massive headache.

He had to fight the media, panicked citizens, the Infected and variety of other things that seemed to get in the way.

The Colonel had to keep the lines between the Red Zone and the Green Zone intact or else chaos would take over. Lastly he had to hunt down whoever started the outbreak.

Colonel Rooks sighed and rubbed his temples "Could this get any better?"

There was a knock at the door Colonel Rooks just grunted "Enter".

The door opened and in stepped a man with short dark hair wearing a standard BlackWatch uniform. "Lieutenant Riley, what is it?" asked Colonel Rooks.

Lieutenant Riley cleared his throat "Sir, the Justice League have arrived with those young heroes. They request to meet with you"

Rooks raised an eyebrow. On any occasion, Rooks would have turned the Justice League away. It was because of the Justice League, BlackWatch had lost its only functioning Super Soldier. But BlackWatch was spread a little thin in the Green and Yellow Zones, trying to keep the public under control.

So Rooks just nodded "Show them in" Lieutenant Riley nodded and left the Colonel's office.

A few minutes passed and Lieutenant Riley returned, bringing Batman, Nightwing and Miss Martian with him.

Colonel Rooks rose from his chair "I'm Colonel Douglas Rooks, welcome to Red Crown command"

Batman spoke "Thank you Colonel but we need to speak alone". Rooks nodded to Lieutenant Riley. The lieutenant understood, he spun around and left, shutting the door behind him.

Colonel Rooks sank back into his chair "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

"The person responsible for the outbreak" said Batman the colonel's eyebrow rose a little "Do tell".

Batman went on to explain that there had been reports of random kidnappings and missing persons all over the country. Some of the recent ones had been the daughter of a marine and Alex Mercer's sister.

The Colonel's eyebrows rose a little "Ok, that is suspicious but what has that to do with BlackWatch"

"Whoever is behind this outbreak, they have been kidnapping people from all over the country" said Batman.

The Colonel frowned "Kidnapping people? What for?" "We are not sure" said Nightwing "But whatever it is, it isn't good".

Colonel Rooks nodded "I can imagine but I can't expend what little resources I have to find some missing persons, I have several million panicked civilians to protect and an army of diseased monsters to battle. I'm afraid I won't be able to help"

"Don't worry, you wont need to use troops" said Miss Martian "We only need information"

Colonel Rooks thought about it for a minutes then said "Ok. I'll have Lieutenant Riley send you what we got on this outbreak"

"Thank you" said Batman.

Somewhere, deep down, Colonel Rooks felt like he was going to regret that decision.

* * *

Dana and Pariah walked together down the hallway, passing wide windows that gave them a grand view of the city.

For the majority of the time, Pariah's words echoed around Dana's mind.

Finally after a few minutes of silence Dana asked, "What do you mean when you needed my help saving the world?"

"I'm trying to save the world from itself" answered Pariah.

Dana gave Pariah a confused look "What?"

Pariah sighed, "Allow me to explain".

The two stopped in front of a window that offered a view of New York, Pariah looked down upon the city and spoke "This world is broken. Wars, disease, crime, poverty, corruption, and more" he glanced over to Dana "If somebody doesn't do something soon, there won't be anything left to save"

Dana frowned "What about the Justice League?"

Pariah snorted, "The Justice League, they're part of the problem".

Dana's frown deepened "What do you mean?"

Pariah glanced back at the window "They have power and technology beyond any found on this world. They have teleportation technology that can take them anywhere on Earth, they have access to computers and other tech that makes Star Labs obsolete, they even have access to advanced biological materials that could render every disease on Earth extinct"

Dana's eye's widened "What! I don't believe you"

"Its true" said Pariah.

Dana gave him a doubtful look "How do you know these things?"

Pariah scratched his chin "Well if I remember correctly from my time at Gentek, BlackWatch and Cadmus worked together in a joint op to infiltrate the Justice League and try to steal some tech for the government"

"And?" asked Dana, anxiously

"And they succeeded… sort of" said Pariah.

Dana's eyebrow rose a little "Sort of?"

"Well they got in alright but the tech they found was beyond anything humanity has ever created. It would've taken decades to smuggle it out and another few decades to reverse engineer it" answered Pariah

"Where did they get this technology?" asked Dana.

Pariah shrugged "Don't know, but I guess some of it came from space, maybe from Atlantis".

Dana shook her head "This doesn't make sense" she rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of what Pariah told her.

After a moment she asked, "If what you said is true, then how are you saving the world? Why did you release the Black Light virus?"

Pariah hesitated a little "I-its complicated"

"try me" said Dana, her eyes narrowed.

Pariah quietly debated with himself till finally he spoke "Allow me to demonstrate my plans" he walked past Dana "Follow me".

Dana followed Pariah down a dark hall, a few flights of stairs and another hall till they reached a window at the end of the hall. The window gave Dana a view into a small room. In the room was an assortment of medical devices that were hooked up to a small figure in a hospital bed.

Dana's eyes widened. In the bed was a small boy who was covered in scars, stitches and burns.

Dana turned to Pariah "Who is this? What are you trying to show me?"

Pariah held a finger to his lips, saying softly "watch" he nodded to the window.

Dana turned and watched as a woman in a lab coat approach the bed, carrying a syringe full of a familiar substance.

Dana gasped "That's Black Light" she turned to Pariah "You're giving him Black Light?"

Pariah only said "Watch".

Dana turned back to the window and watched as the woman insert the needle into the boy's arm and introduced the virus into his system. Dana wanted to interfere but something in the corner of her mind told her not too. The woman pulled the needle out of the boy's arm and stood there, silently observing the boy. After a minute, the boy moaned a little and suddenly he began to toss and turn.

Dana moved to enter the room but Pariah put a firm hand on her shoulder "Wait" he pointed at the boy.

Dana turned her attention back to the boy and her eyes widened. She saw the boy's flesh heal itself. The horrible burns, scars and stitches vanished in a matter of seconds. The boy stopped tossing and turning and he went still, his chest rose and fell slowly. The woman checked the boy's pulse and smiled a little.

Pariah smiled "Perfectly fine" he glanced at Dana "What do you think?" Dana's jaw hung open in surprise.

Dana finally managed to speak "W-what just happened?"

"What I'm planning to do" said Pariah, in a matter-of fact tone "Saving the world" "how?" asked Dana.

Pariah nodded to the boy in the window "using the Black Light virus to build, not to destroy" he sighed wistfully "That virus is a beautiful thing, in the right hands it could be used to make a earth a paradise" his face darkened a little "In the wrong hands, it's a weapon annihilate all life".

Dana nodded slowly "ok, but what about the infected?"

"Still working the kinks out on that" said Pariah.

The two heard footsteps and suddenly a hooded figure appeared on the other side of the hall "Pariah" said the figure.

From the sound of the voice, Dana noticed that it was a woman.

Pariah answered, "What is it? I thought I made it clear that I wasn't to be disturbed"

"I know but there is something going on outside" said the woman.

Pariah frowned "What is it this time?"

"A patrol" said the woman "But this one might have something of interest"

Pariah let out an exasperated sigh "Really, another patrol? Can't BlackWatch leave us in peace?"

Pariah turned to Dana "I'm sorry but I really must handle this" he bowed low "please excuse me, my lady" he turned and marched down an adjacent hall till suddenly he stopped "Oh, Sabrina?"

"Yea?" said the woman

"would you be a dear and keep an eye on Dana" said Pariah

"Sure" said the woman named Sabrina.

With that, Pariah continued down the hall and he vanished around a corner.

Dana turned to Sabrina with a questioning look on her face "You have to forgive him, he's very busy" said Sabrina.

Dana saw that Sabrina was a woman in her thirties who had flawless pale skin, flowing dark hair and dark eyes.

Sabrina held out a hand "Sabrina Galloway" Dana shook Sabrina's hand "Dana Mercer".

Sabrina smiled warmly "Nice to meet you" she shoved her hands into her pockets "Follow me, I'll show you to your quarters" Dana nodded and the two began walking down the hall, passing several other rooms till they reached a door "here we are" said Sabrina.

She turned to Dana "I hope you don't mind if you share, there's just so many people here and have only a few rooms"

"I don't mind" said Dana.

Sabrina opened the door revealing a large, windowless room that had two cots in it. Sitting on one of the cots was Amaya Heller

"Maya?" said Dana

"Dana!" exclaimed Maya. She ran over to Dana and gave her a hug. Dana glanced over to Sabrina "Why is she here?"

Sabrina shook her head "I can't really say, I'll let Pariah tell you when he gets back"

"He better" said Dana, her voice slowly turned into a growl.

Sabrina smiled "I like you Dana, I think they will too"

"What?" asked Dana but Sabrina glanced at her watch "Look at how time flies, I got somewhere to be, I'll just leave you two alone. Maya?"

"Yeah?" said Amaya

"Please tell Miss Mercer the rules for me while I go to my meeting?" said Sabrina.

Amaya nodded "Ok"

Sabrina smiled "Thanks" she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Dana looked Amaya in the eyes "Are you ok? Did they do anything to you?"

"I'm fine" said Maya, nodding "They've all been very nice to me, Mr. Pariah and Sabrina has been the nicest of them all".

Dana frowned "all?"

Maya nodded "Yeah, there's lots of people here, Mr. Pariah said they came to live here with him and Sabrina when the outbreak started, they say its safe here"

"Where are these people?" asked Dana.

Amaya thought for a moment then said "In the basement, it's the only thing big enough for all those people"

Dana nodded "Ok, so what are these rules?" "Mr. Pariah said that they help us and they protect us" said Amaya.

She coughed a little then listed the rules "Don't leave your room at night unless you have an escort, no leaving the safety of the building and don't go to level twenty six"

"What's on twenty six?" asked Dana.

Amaya shrugged "I don't know but Sabrina told me its private, I think Mr. Pariah and Sabrina live there".

Dana thought for a moment. There's something going on and she's going to find out.

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere else in the Red Zone, a small armored vehicle trundled through a ruined street.

The inside of the infected zone was worse than Heller could've imagined. It was a literal concrete jungle. Buildings had long strands of red biomass wrapped around them like vines. Some buildings were knocked over and were left leaning on other buildings. The street itself was completely covered in ruined concrete, biomass and twisted metal.

Heller sat back in his seat, keeping a tight grip on his rifle. Sitting with him inside the tiny armored vehicle were several marines who volunteered to go into the Red Zone. Heller joined the squad so he could get a lay of the land, while Caldwell, Young Justice and Batman check out BlackWatch's files over at Red Crown command.

Memories of Amaya and Colette came to mind. He remembered the time he last spoke to his wife. Heller shook his head of the memories. He had to stay focused if he was going to find Amaya.

He glanced outside through the small openings of the armored transport and saw a dead hunter lying out in the street with its chest split wide open.

Heller shivered a little and turned his attention back to the inside of the transport.

One marine spoke "Why are we even here? We're supposed to be peacekeepers, handling civilians and shit. Why didn't they give this Red Zone bullshit to BlackWatch?"

Another soldier spoke up "Shit, you want to leave a patrol mission up to those baby killers? They'd just as soon blow the whole damn city to kingdom come".

Heller nodded in agreement. Even before the first outbreak, BlackWatch didn't have a honest reputation in the military and most soldiers made up crazy stories about what BlackWatch dose and what they are capable of.

But Heller knew the truth. He knew that BlackWatch was worse then he originally imagined and they are capable of far worse.

The soldier sitting beside Heller nodded "Yeah, yeah I heard that man".

Suddenly there was a deafening boom and the armored transport was sent rolling like a tin can, tossing the passengers around like ragdolls. Heller hit his head on something and he blacked out.

* * *

For what seemed like an hour, Heller's eyes fluttered open. He found himself staring up at the sky. The sky was a light shade of a red and was full of strange, abnormal birds.

Heller sat himself up, his body ached, his head throbbed painfully and his ears rang. He glanced around and saw his companions strewn out on the rough concrete ground.

Heller glanced up and he saw the armored transport dangling a few feet above, tangled up in a thick web of red biomass.

His radio crackled to life "_Ninja, three, three this is Shogun. Radio check" _

Heller got up and went over to the nearest soldier and checked his pulse. Nothing. The voice on the radio spoke again "_Ninja three, three, do you need cas-evac?" _

"Shogun, this is Ninja three, three" answered Heller

"_Copy three, three. What's your squad status?" _asked the voice

"Verifying" said Heller as he trudged around a huge wall of rubble that blocked his path. He saw a street filled with over turned cars, ruined armored transports and other assorted vehicles. There were a few more bodies from the transport that may have been deposited during the crash. He heard a thud, Heller turned and saw one of the large bird like creatures perched on an overturned tank.

It looked like a bird but it was almost as big as Heller was. It had large, red glowing veins running through its body. The bird looked fierce and it looked able to tear apart a grown man with ease. The bird's head glanced around and suddenly it let out a screech.

The bird's large wings spread and it shot into the sky, quickly carrying the bird away from the scene.

Heller frowned in confusion but he looked up and saw why the bird fled. In the sky he saw a grey, hooded figure hurtling towards the earth at a break neck speed. The figure landed feet first, forming a large crater and causing the ground around him to quake.

Once the dust and rubble faded, Heller saw that it looked human. It was dressed in a tattered grey hoodie and jeans. The figure rose and looked around at its surroundings.

Heller squinted "What the hell?".

The figure marched over to a destroyed tank and swatted it aside with one hand. The tank went flying and crashed into a nearby building.

Heller muttered into his radio "Red Crown, I think I found our suspect"

"_Ninja three, three, this is Red Crown, we are sending reinforcements to your location. Do not pursue…repeat"_ Heller watched as the hooded figure search through some of the bodies that lay strewn around the street. It picked through their pockets and tossed aside some of their contents and pocketed a few. Heller's blood began to boil. This was probably the one who took Amaya and now it was going through the pockets of his fellow marines like some sort of vulture? He wasn't going to stand around and do nothing.

Heller reached for his knife "Red Crown be advised, I'm not in BlackWatch" growled Heller. Heller drew his knife and he silently attacked.

He sprinted over to his target and quickly slit the man's throat. He made sure the blade ran deep enough that it could decapitate his target. The man's throat gushed red and the man twitched like a bug.

Heller grunted "Easy" but he blinked when he saw the wound repair itself instantly. "What the?" began Heller but he found himself thrown back by an invisible force.

Heller bounced off of the hood of a car and rolled onto the ground.

The man rose and rolled his head around a little, popping a few bones his neck.

He studied Heller, who lay still on the ground, and shook his head. The man turned and walked down the twisted, ruined street, deeper into the Red Zone.

Heller slowly pushed himself off the ground, he spotted the photo of his wife on the ground in front of him. He picked it up and shoved it back into his pocket. Heller's joints ached and his muscles were sore all over but he forced himself to stand.

He quickly chased after the man and quickly sliced the man's side. The man swung at Heller but Heller dodged the man's attack and made some quick stabs in the man's ribs, back and heart. But the man just threw out a hand and knocked Heller off his feet. Heller went flying a few feet and landed on the hard road.

Heller groaned a little but he quickly scrambled to his feet. He saw the man standing there, with his arms crossed "What else you got?" said the man, in a tone that sounded half curious and half mocking.

Heller growled and he charged at the man. The man quickly spun around, he sprinted up the wall of rubble and vanished on the other side "The hell is this punk up to?" muttered Heller.

Once he got to the top, a flock of those monstrous birds from before flew right at him.

Heller quickly ducked and the birds flew over his head screaming. Heller got up and he saw standing in the street was the man. Heller glanced up and saw that it was quickly getting dark.

If he was going to find Amaya and Dana, he'd have to catch up to this man and somehow stop him.

But Heller didn't care "You think I won't follow you in there?" he growled.

He slid down the mountain of rubble and gave chase.

* * *

Heller ducked under some buildings that were leaning on others and he narrowly dodged falling chunks of brick and stone.

He passed some small fires that were burning and he saw up ahead another fire that lit the darkening street.

Heller heard a voice "H-hello? Please help me! O God somebody!" it was a man.

Heller hastened his pace. He climbed over a car and he saw the hooded man standing in an open area, lying on the ground near him was a wounded soldier. Heller jogged over to help the soldier but suddenly a Hunter burst out of a pile of rubble and dived onto the soldier.

Heller watched as the Hunter started clawing and gnawing on the soldier.

"Shit" muttered Heller. He readied his knife and he rushed to help the soldier but the Hunter tore the man in half, silencing the man once and for all. The hunter tossed half of the man across the street and continued gnawing on the rest.

Heller looked up and saw the hooded man watching and Heller could've sworn that the man was grinning.

Heller scowled and chased after the man. The hooded man was half way down another street when Heller caught up with him "Don't you run from me!" roared Heller.

Heller stopped. He heard a helicopter approaching.

He saw a BlackWatch helicopter soar overhead and it shined a bright spotlight on him "Sergeant Heller, you are trespassing on BlackWatch territory" announced the pilot over a loudspeaker "You are to hold your position. A personnel carrier is inbound to-" but suddenly a grey blur shot out from the window of a nearby building.

The figure kicked the tail of the helicopter, which sent the helicopter spinning out of control. The helicopter began dropping out of the sky and spinning.

Heller quickly ducked and the helicopter missed him by an inch. The helicopter crashed and exploded. The explosion knocked Heller off his feet.

Heller sat up and managed to catch his breath. He heard a distant thud. Heller turned and saw the hooded man standing there, a few yards away.

Heller gripped his knife tightly "Ok, you done runnin?"

the man nodded.

Heller was ready to attack but he heard a blood-curdling roar. Heller spun around in time to see a giant infected creature stomping his way. It was big, bigger than any Hunter than Heller has ever seen.

One arm was a massive, solid misshapen fist that looked like a stone hammer. It was connected to the torso by a thick arm and its other arm was a thin blade.

Its body was massive and red as blood.

Heller gasped "What the- holy shit!" he dived out of the way as the infected slammed its massive fist down on the ground, rocking the entire street. Heller scrambled to his feet and he saw that the infected flattened its arm out, forming a solid wall and it began to slid towards him, sweeping everything up and forcing it towards Heller in a tidal wave.

Heller used every ounce of energy he hand and sprinted away from the oncoming wall of twisted metal and concrete. Heller spotted an opening and he dived into an ruined building.

Heller, feeling safe for the moment, caught his breath. He breathed in the cool night air and he began planning on how to get out of the Red Zone. But his moment of respite didn't last.

The infected roared and slammed against the front of the building, causing the entire building to rattle. The infected continued for another few moments but it eventually gave up.

As the infected beast skulked away, Heller muttered, "How's a virus supposed to make that?" suddenly Alex Mercer's words came to his mind. He heard him tell the Young Justice team that the virus was capable of creating a whole variety of infected, some more fearsome then the ones BlackWatch had encountered.

He also remembered the Hunter's corpse from before.

It was probably that larger infected that done it, thought Heller.

Heller rose to his feet but suddenly he was blindsided by a large hunter.

Heller's heart jumped into his throat as the Hunter began snapping at his throat. Heller was exhausted but he managed to keep the Hunter away from his throat. With whatever strength he had left, he began hacking and slashing at the Hunter's throat. Within seconds, he managed to slash open the Hunter's throat and the Hunter went limp.

Heller squirmed and he crawled out from under the slain Hunter "Get…the hell…off of me…Bitch" grunted Heller.

Once he was free, Heller wiped the blood off his face and he rose to his feet. Heller turned and he saw standing there was the hooded man.

Heller leveled his weapon and charged but the man's arm stretched, it grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against a wall. The man approached Heller slowly, his arm slowly shrank a little.

Heller began stabbing the man's arm over and over but to no avail.

The man's arm was covered in black spikes and it glowed a soft orange light.

In the faint orange light, Heller could see the man smirking.

The man's other arm shifted into a claw like shape and the man plunged the claws into Heller's stomach. Heller groaned in pain but he began to feel a new type of pain.

The pain started in his stomach and it quickly spread through his body like a wild fire. He felt like he was going to burn up. He could see tendrils working their way into his stomach and Heller's vision began to blur.

The man dropped Heller and left him lying in the dirt.

Heller's vision returned momentarily and he looked up at the hooded man's face. His face was covered in shadow but he could see the man's eyes gleaming.

Heller's vision went dark and it returned for a moment.

He looked up and saw a helicopter hovering above him. Heller's body thrashed about as the tendrils quickly shifted through his system. They quickly changed his genetics and vitals. Images flashed through Heller's mind and voices began muttering and talking random things. Soon the images and voices overlapped and soon everything went dark.

* * *

A squad of BlackWatch soldiers descended and secured Heller's body and they took him back to the helicopter.

One of the soldiers removed his gas mask to get a better look at Heller's body. Lieutenant Riley studied Heller as the Helicopter ascended into the night sky.

The lieutenant saw the large bloody spot on Heller's shirt but he saw no wound.

Riley frowned and he checked Heller's vitals "He's alive" he murmured into his radio

"Dose he have the virus in him?" asked Rooks.

Riley nodded "Possibly, all signs point to it. Fever, increased heart rate and he has signs of battle but they are healing themselves and fast"

The Colonel was silent for a moment then said "Bring him back to base but keep him away from those costumed vigilantes, they must not know"

"Got it" said Riley "I'll take him to Koenig"

"Good, Rooks out" grunted Rooks and the radio went dead.

* * *

In the Red Zone, Dana peaked outside her room and saw that the hall was empty. She opened the door a little more and slipped outside. Once Amaya was asleep, Dana decided to snoop around. She tip toed down the hall and rounded a corner but she ended up bumping into Pariah.

Dana stammered "S-sorry"

"What are you doing out of your room at this time of night?" asked Pariah.

Dana stumbled to find words "Uh, I was j-just curious that's all. I just couldn't get something out of my mind"

"Which is?" asked Pariah

"What is on level twenty six?" asked Dana.

Pariah's head tilted to one side "Is that all?" Dana's mouth opened and then closed with no words.

Pariah sighed "I know that your suspicious, a private floor your not allowed access to, people living in the basement but don't worry, all will be revealed tomorrow" part of Dana didn't trust Pariah but Pariah sounded very sincere.

Dana nodded "Ok" she turned to leave but she stopped and looked back at Pariah in shock "Is that blood?"

Pariah looked down and saw the huge bloodstain that covered most of his clothing. Pariah nodded "Yeah, I had a little run in with BlackWatch patrols. Its my blood, but don't worry I'm fine"

Dana just looked at the blood stain then at Pariah. Pariah placed a hand on Dana's shoulder "I'm fine, just go back to bed and tomorrow, there will be no more secrets"

Dana nodded slowly "Sure" she turned and walked back down the hall towards her room.

Once she was sure she was alone in her room, Dana muttered to herself "What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

Across the ocean in Italy, a man and woman walked arm in arm down a dark, empty street.

The man had dark hair and ice blue eyes, the woman had flowing red hair that was almost an orange color.

The two reached their hotel and they made their way up to their room. The man unlocked the door and the two entered their room.

The woman slipped out of her shoes and sat down on the bed sighing "What a day"

"What did I tell ya?" said the man "I was right, Italy was a good choice" "Indeed you were" she admitted. The man threw off his coat and went to the restroom.

Suddenly his phone rang. "Can you get that for me Liz?" he called from inside the restroom.

"Ok" said Elizabeth.

She rummaged around through his coat till she found his phone, she answered it "Hello?" she heard a familiar voice on the other end

"Oh, hi, how are you?" asked Elizabeth.

The man on the other line spoke and Elizabeth nodded a little "Uh huh, yes we know about it, it's just not our problem"

the man spoke in an urgent tone but Elizabeth shook her head "Look I don't know what you want us to do about it, we're supposed to be dead and if we go back and help, the life that Alex and I have built would go up in flames and we'll be back to where you found us at square one".

The man on the other end asked Elizabeth something and Elizabeth nodded "Yeah, a year ago, in Zurich. It was a nice ceremony, you should've been there" she glanced at the ring on her finger, smiling a little.

Elizabeth heard the man sigh "Look I know it seems selfish but we just can't go back there" said Elizabeth, sincerely "You know what will happen and it will be awful for everyone".

The man sighed and agreed with her then said his goodbyes and Elizabeth said her goodbyes as well and they hung up.

Elizabeth heard the door to the restroom open and she saw Alex standing there, brushing his teeth "So, who was it?" asked Alex.

Elizabeth answered "Ragland"

"What'd he want?" asked Alex

Elizabeth shook her head "Nothing, he only wanted to talk"

Alex nodded "Oh, how is he?" "He's fine actually" said Elizabeth.

The two continued discussing about Ragland and later as the minutes rolled on, the two crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well what do you think? sorry for the wait but whatever. Review!)**


	4. Ch 4: Hello Cruel World

**(a/n: well here you go. I hope you enjoy this chapter. review!)**

* * *

Ch.4: Hello Cruel World

Hundreds of miles away from New York and below the sea, the large black submarine cut through the dark ocean like a dagger through paper.

Aboard the intimidating craft was Kaldur, formerly known as Aqualad, a crew of Atlantians and Kaldur's father, the infamous Black Manta.

But something horrible had befallen the ship and crew.

A mysterious disease had infected most of the crew. Even Black Manta himself had fallen ill.

Kaldur marched through the halls of ship passing quarters filled to the brim with sick Atlantians.

He was stumped. This disease came from nowhere, it laid waste to the crew's strong immune systems and it shrugged off medical treatments like nothing.

Kaldur was starting to grow nervous. He had left the team so he could get closer to his father and the Light but with this new disease on the rise, it seems like he might loose his only connection to the Light.

Kaldur reached his father's quarters. He knocked and he heard a wheezy voice answer "Come in".

Kaldur entered his father's quarters and the sight of his weakened father greeted him. Black Manta was a powerful and intimidating man but once the illness struck the ship, he was the first among many to be infected.

Within day's Black Manta became bedridden. Kaldur watched as a simple disease turn the mighty Black Manta into a small, sickly creature.

Black Manta sat up in his bed, sweat dripping down his brow, his body was thinner and his skin became ashen.

Black Manta coughed violently into his hand. Once he managed to stop he spoke "Status…report"

"Quarantine has slowed the spread of the disease a little, but it has not stopped it" said Kaldur.

Black Manta sighed sadly "Damn"

"So far, over eighty three percent of the crew have been confined to quarters. The other twelve percent are trying to keep our ship moving and are treating the ill, at this rate we will run out of medical supplies and everyone aboard will be infected" said Kaldur.

Black Manta frowned "This is most troublesome"

Kaldur placed a hand on his father's shoulder "Father, you know what options we have left-" "No" interrupted Black Manta, shaking his head.

Kaldur sighed, "Father please, it may be our only chance. For all we know, this virus may be striking Atlantis and the Surface. If we don't do something soon, everything on earth may die".

Black Manta was silent. He hated Atlantis and the surface world but so far the virus claimed the lives of several of his crew. Some of them were his closest friends. He watched as they died screaming and thrashing violently in their beds.

Black Manta finally spoke "I will consider your proposal"

Kaldur smiled "Thank you father".

Suddenly there was a loud boom and the ship rocked violently. There were several more booms and the ship rocked violently more, there were muffled screams and the alarms began to blare.

Kaldur told his father "Stay here" he got up and rushed out of his father's quarters.

He sprinted down the hall and he turned a corner and he came face to face with a sight that made his heart sink into his gut "No" breathed Kaldur.

Standing in doorway of one of the crew's quarters was an Infected Hunter.

Its mouth and claws were soaked in the blood of the crew. The Hunter spotted Kaldur and let out a roar that rocked the entire ship.

The hunter got down on all fours and bounded at Kaldur. It raised its claws and it attacked.

* * *

Heller began to slip in and out of consciousness. The first thing he saw was blinding white and shapes moving around him speaking in muffled voices.

The second thing he experienced was pain.

He heard loud drills and medical instruments at work he managed to glimpse down and saw his chest being cut open and hands reaching inside. He also saw the face of a man with a white beard and glasses. The man wiped his brow and muttered something and Heller faded into unconsciousness.

When Heller regained consciousness he heard footsteps and voices.

He saw several figures standing over him. Some of them he recognized as soldiers and one of them was Colonel Rooks.

Suddenly Heller's hearing began to return, "No man should've survived this, his system is flooded with the virus" said Colonel Rooks.

The bearded man glanced at a folder in his hand and to the colonel "Which is why you're going to run these experiments Doctor" said Rooks

"And if you don't like the results Colonel Rooks? Then what?" demanded the doctor.

Rooks didn't answer. Instead the Colonel glared at the doctor and said bluntly "Heller is Gentek property now. Things go sour, you burn the room"

"Burn?" sputtered the doctor "No, absolutely not. This specimen is priceless!"

"The Colonel said burn it, that's what you're going to do", growled Riley.

Heller began to become more lucid. He began to regain the feelings in his limbs, his thoughts became much clearer and his eyes began to adjust. Heller watched as the doctor hesitate for a moment then he gave in "It's time to begin" muttered the doctor.

The doctor, Riley and Rooks walked away and Heller felt himself being lifted.

He found himself standing and the restraints holding him released him.

He heard the doctor's voice over the intercom "now, a simple survival stimulus"

"Whuh, where am I?" groaned Heller, shaking off the effects of the drugs that was in his veins "What the hell is this?" suddenly a large, metal gate rose, revealing a room filled with infected Walkers.

The walkers noticed Heller began to flock to Heller, ready to shred him to pieces.

Heller's reflexes kicked in and he threw a punch that tore the head off of one of the Walkers and he kicked another, shattering its body into a pieces.

Heller looked at his hands in shock. How did he do that? He thought to himself.

Heller decided to worry about it later. He clenched his fists and continued fighting the Walkers. Within seconds, he wiped out the swarm of Walkers.

Heller glanced up and saw that Rooks and the doctor were watching from an observation booth "Let me out of here!" bellowed Heller.

Rooks turned to the doctor "You have what you need, Dr. Koenig?"

"Colonel, please, we must learn all we can about the subject" said Dr. Koenig

"I can hear you!" said Heller.

Sirens began to blare and Heller turned and he saw several other gates opened, letting loose more Walkers "My god" murmured Heller.

Heller began to fight off the oncoming swarms of Walkers, thinking about what BlackWatch was doing.

What were they doing with infected? Why were they treating him like some sort of lab rat? Was it something to do with his new found power?

"The new raw data we're collecting here, its like nothing I've ever seen before" breathed Dr. Koenig.

Heller grabbed a Walker and crushed its head in his hands like a grape "I'm going to kill you when I get out of here!" growled Heller "Hey! You hear me!" Heller finished killing the last Walker in the room.

Heller heard Rooks bark at Dr. Koenig "That's enough. He's too dangerous, burn him!"

"Rooks you can't!" argued Dr. Koenig "He's too valuable!"

"You're out of order, Koenig" growled Rooks "Lieutenant Riley, hit the switch!"

"Yes sir!" said Riley.

Heller heard Riley began shouting orders and alarms began to blare.

Heller muttered, "That's not good" suddenly tiles on the floor slid open revealing large flamethrowers and in the blink of an eye, the whole room became engulfed in flames.

Heller opened his eyes and he found himself staring at the ceiling. His body was screaming in pain and smelled horrible "Get clean-up and recovery in there, make sure he's dead" said Rooks

"Damn you Colonel" grunted Koenig "This is no place for your brand of barbarism".

Heller moaned, his body was burnt and his skin was stiff and charred. He tried to move but he felt more pain.

"Don't get sanctimonious with me you damn ghoul" said Rooks "I've read your experiment reports".

Heller heard a gate open and he saw two soldiers in heavy bullet proof armor and gas masks appeared over him. One kicked his arm lightly but Heller made an effort not to move. "He's dead sir" reported one of the soldiers

"Make sure" said Rooks "We don't need another Mercer and we all know how that turned out"

"Yes sir" said one of the men.

The soldiers leveled their weapons and fired a few short bursts into Heller.

Heller's body twitched from the gunshots but after the ceased fire, he didn't move.

Suddenly Heller's body moved on its own. He grabbed the nearest soldier and he threw him to the ground. Heller punched the soldier over and over till he was a bloody pulp. Suddenly the dead soldier's flesh began to melt into Heller's ruined skin. Within seconds the soldier was absorbed into Heller and suddenly Heller's body was completely healed.

Heller looked at his hands in horror "W-what the hell did he do to me?"

"Shit! Release all specimen groups!" barked Rooks "Do it now!"

"Incredible" breathed Koenig "it healed him!" Heller turned and found more Walkers pouring into the room.

Heller reacted. He tore into them, ripping them apart and absorbing a few "Riley, keep burning him!" ordered Rooks

"Gladly" said Riley.

Heller began tossing bodies around like ragdolls and he continued consuming Walkers "Heller! Eat them! Eat them to survive!" shouted Koenig

"Shut the hell up Koenig!" barked Rooks.

Alarms began to blare and Rooks voice began to echo "All non-essential personnel evacuate! I need a perimeter defense on this building!"

"Roger that Colonel" said a voice.

Heller scowled "That's my cue to leave".

Heller began searching for an opening but he heard Riley laughing cruelly "I'm gonna turn your ass into charcoal!" the temperature in the room rose and Heller felt the flames wash over him, engulfing the entire room.

Once the flames cleared, Heller saw that he was still standing and the pain was not as great.

Heller's skin regenerated. He glared up at the observation room "You're going to pay for this!"

"Shit…Shit! The burn controls are dead!" grunted Riley

"You guard that room lieutenant!" ordered Rooks.

Heller glanced around and saw the operating table they had him on. He grabbed it and pulled it free from the bolts with ease. Heller lifted it above his head and he took aim at the control room window. He could see the shocked face of Lieutenant Riley "Oh shit!" muttered Riley.

Heller hurled the table at the observation room window and it shattered it like a bullet through glass, providing him with an escape point.

Riley scrambled to his feet and roared "Just come up here, come on!" Heller crouched and launched himself high into the air. Heller soared and he landed in the control room.

He spotted the way out and he took off running.

Riley screamed curses and fired a hail of bullets at Heller.

Heller ignored him and he managed to burst through the door and into the night.

* * *

Heller sprinted down the alleyway.

BlackWatch choppers flew overhead, searching for him. He glanced back and saw two BlackWatch soldiers following behind.

Heller ducked down another alley and he stopped to catch his breath. Heller's heart hammered against his chest, sweat dripped down his face.

Once he caught his breath, he glanced back at the alley he just came from but found that the two BlackWatch soldiers were gone. Heller frowned but he was knocked to the ground by a dark shape.

He looked up and saw that it was one of the BlackWatch soldiers who were chasing him.

The soldier was unconscious and unmoving. Heller glanced at his hand and muttered, "W-what the hell is this? What the hell is going on?"

"It's what you're meant for. Its why he chose you" said a voice.

Heller looked up and saw slim figure wearing a hoodie and jeans. Heller recognized that the voice was female. He noticed long strands of dark hair poking out of the hood "you" he breathed, "You were the one who took Maya"

"The same" said the woman, doing a theatrical bow.

Thousands of questions popped into Heller's mind but he voiced the most pressing one on his mind "What the hell did your friend do to me?"

"He gave you the 'Mercer Virus' that's what they call it right?" said the woman, tilting her head to one side.

"Why did he do this?" asked Heller

The woman cleared her throat and spoke "Think about this for a moment, the same virus and location, twice in a row, and the same BlackWatch here to save New York, seems quite coincidental, don't you think?" she crouched down and looked Heller in the eyes "Wake up Heller. This is no viral outbreak this is a bioweapons test. Designed by Gentek, controlled by BlackWatch blamed on Mercer and my friend"

she nodded her head over to the unconscious BlackWatch soldier lying beside Heller "This peon here is going to prove it to you" her arm shifted into a claw like form that glowed orange.

She grabbed the BlackWatch officer saying "Mr. Heller, meet BlackWatch Lieutenant Mark Simon".

She reached out and grabbed Heller's arm, her hand shifted into tendrils and the tendrils sank into Heller's flesh.

Heller twitched and groaned, "Let it happen" soothed the woman "Let the truth sink in".

The BlackWatch officer began to scream as the woman's claws dug deeper into his flesh.

Heller froze and suddenly images and voices poured into his mind.

A wrinkled face appeared and spoke to him "Mercer's interference with the detonation was bad enough, his accomplices cannot remain at large"

"Oh, you afraid that his buddies might screw things up even more?" said the voice of Lieutenant Simon.

The old man scowled "I was on the Gentek team that made that virus, Simon, I knew Mercer and his pals. Now that Mercer is dead, his friends will come for revenge and I know what they are capable of. I will not see my life's work ruined!" the visions faded and Heller dropped to his knees.

His head throbbed and ached. "What the hell was that?" groaned Heller

"Every living thing you consume makes you stronger" explained the woman "You take their shape and their memories" Heller looked down at his hands in shock.

The two looked up and saw a BlackWatch helicopter fly over them.

Heller looked at the woman "I heard you talking. I've seen your weird virus shit. But I have seen nothing that will make me believe you, over them" he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder towards BlackWatch headquarters.

The woman tilted her head "No? They cut you Heller. They put you in a cage filled with starving infected and then tried to burn you alive" she stepped closer to Heller till they were almost nose to nose "We didn't release this virus and we didn't kill your wife".

She placed a hand on Heller's shoulder but he just shrugged it off "So what do you want? You want to fight them?" asked Heller

"We want to destroy them" answered the woman "BlackWatch, Gentek, and their virus. And we want your help".

Her tone grew serious "But there's something you need to do first."

"What?" asked Heller

"Gentek has been experimenting with the virus" explained the woman "Making all kinds of infected creatures. You need that DNA"

she turned and walked away "When you're ready, we'll find you"

"Wait! What about my daughter!" said Heller

"She's fine" called the woman "When we meet again, I'll explain everything. You can even bring some of your Justice League pals"

The woman stopped and she glanced back at Heller "And for God's sake man, put some clothes on" she turned and left.

Heller looked down and realized that he was completely naked.

He thought of some clothing and his form shifted and suddenly clothes appeared on his body.

Heller blinked in surprise, he inspected the clothing he got on muttering "this is gonna come in handy".

* * *

Dana's eyes fluttered open and she laid on her cot staring at the plain grey ceiling, letting reality sink in.

Part of her had hoped that the day before was just some horrible dream but much to her dismay, it wasn't.

Dana sat up and looked to the cot beside her. It was empty. Amaya was gone.

There was a knock at the door. Dana threw off her blanket and she got out of the cot.

Dana opened the door and saw standing there in the hall was Pariah. He was dressed in a grey hoodie that was similar from the one he wore yesterday but this one looked new and clean.

Pariah waved a little "Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah" said Dana, nodding a little.

Pariah smiled a little "Good"

"What are you doing here?" asked Dana.

Pariah crossed his arms "Well, today I am taking to level twenty six"

Dana blinked in surprise "Really?"

She really didn't expect Pariah to allow her go. She expected that he'd promise to show her level twenty-six another time and she would have to sneak in and find out what's going on by herself.

Pariah nodded "Yes really, now come on lets go" he turned and started walking down the hall, Dana followed after him.

The two walked together down the hall till they reached an elevator. The two stepped into the elevator. Once inside, doors closed and the elevator slowly descended to level twenty-six.

The doors slid aside, revealing a clean white hallway. The walls, floor and ceiling were spotless.

Dana felt that the temperature was different. She shivered "Air conditioning?"

"Yep, it helps preserve our experiments" said Pariah.

He stepped out of the elevator and Dana followed. The two walked down the white hallway, passing different doors and halls that lead elsewhere on level twenty-six. They came to a stop in front of a pair of metal doors. Pariah punched in a code on the keypad that was beside the door and the doors slid open. Pariah stepped aside and allowed Dana to go in first.

Dana slowly walked through the doorway and she found herself in a lab. The lab was big, big enough to be three classrooms.

The lab had several metal tables, shelves filled with bottles and jars of materials, Dana noticed some box like objects in the corner but a white sheet covered them, preventing anyone from seeing what they were.

Pariah walked in and he clapped a hand on Dana's shoulder "Welcome to Lab-103, isn't it beautiful?"

"Gotta say, this place is squeaky clean" said Dana, her eyes narrowed "A little too clean"

"We didn't clean anything up to cover up anything nefarious, if that's what your thinking" said Pariah "We have no secrets to hide here" he walked over to one of the tables and sat down on a stool, he waved Dana over.

Dana pulled up a seat beside Pariah, his hands glided around the materials on the table till he found the one he was looking for.

He pulled a small glass vial that contained a clear liquid. Pariah held it up so Dana could see "Do you know what this is?"

"No idea" said Dana

"This is a new variation of the Black Light virus" said Pariah, proudly "A neat little thing that we like to call White Light"

Dana raised an eyebrow "White Light?"

"Yes. A nice name for the virus that will save the world, don't you think?" said Pariah.

He sighed "But, sadly its still only in its testing stage where-" Suddenly there were some rattling sounds from the corner of the lab

"What's that?" asked Dana

"My next little surprise" said Pariah.

He got up and he went over to the box like objects and picked one up. He carried it back to the table "Dana, I want you to meet a friend of mine" said Pariah. Pariah placed the object on the table. He grabbed the sheet and he pulled it away revealing a cage containing a small, alien creature.

Dana's eyes widened in shock, it was one of the aliens she saw on the news.

The creature looked at Dana and it began to growl something and shake the bars on the cage. Pariah slammed his fist on the top of the cage, the creature flinched and it stopped.

Pariah smiled "Dana, meet Steve, our little alien friend"

"That's an alien" said Dana, looking completely flabbergasted

"Yes indeed" said Pariah, tapping his hand lightly on the top of the cage "It's from the same planet as the one who was impersonating that ambassador"

"How…where did you get him?" asked Dana.

Pariah smiled, tapping his nose lightly "The nose knows. I found this little guy and some of his kind in the sewers beneath the city trying to set up some sort of explosive device but luckily I was there to stop them"

Dana blinked in surprise "No way" "Its true" said Pariah.

The alien was muttering something in its language; its eyes darted around in fear.

Dana frowned "What did he say?" Pariah shrugged "Who knows".

Dana crossed her arms "Ok, so you saved New York from being destroyed by aliens, I get that, but why are you keeping him here in a cage? Shouldn't you hand him over to the authorities or the Justice League?"

Pariah snorted "What for? The Justice League will probably just let him go home, the authorities would probably lock him up in a small windowless room for the rest of his days. But me, no not me, no ma'am" he shook his head "I have better plans for him and his kind"

"Which are?" probed Dana.

Pariah smiled "That's a surprise I think you will enjoy the most" there was a beeping sound and Pariah rolled up his sleeve. He looked at the small watch on his wrist "Well I'm on a tight schedule, I got to be somewhere in an hour. So if we're going to see everything else, we must get going" he tossed the sheet back over the cage.

He and Dana left the lab.

As they left, the Krolotean was calling after Dana in his native language. He was trying to warn her to flee for her life and to stay away from the hooded man.

But his warning was swallowed up by silence and darkness.

* * *

The elevator's doors slid open revealing a long narrow hall, Pariah stepped out followed by Dana "Here we are, the basement" said Pariah

"What's down here?" asked Dana.

Pariah waved a hand "Just some extra living quarters. The whole building used to be a Gentek lab but after the last outbreak died down, Gentek cleared this place and abandoned the whole building"

"And now you're living here like some sort of squatter" said Dana

Pariah nodded a little "That's one way of putting it".

They reached a set of doors at the end of the hall.

Pariah opened them, revealing a spacious room that stretched on as far as she could see.

Inside that room, Dana saw that there were almost two hundred people. They were all dressed in normal clothes. Some sat on cots reading to young children, some were playing cards. Some were even asleep.

Dana noticed that Amaya was there, playing with some of the children.

A woman got up from her cot and approached Dana and Pariah "Pariah, I'm glad that you're here" said the woman "We running low on supplies down here and more are arriving from the tunnels"

"How many?" asked Pariah

"Another twenty just showed up last night" answered the woman "With another ten are on the way".

The woman had short dark hair and pale features. She wore a black suit that looked wrinkled and worn.

Pariah sighed, "Ok, I'll see what I can do. Tell Lindsay and Elwood to report to me when they are free"

the woman nodded "Ok" she glanced to Dana saying "Whose she?"

"This is Dana" said Pariah, patting Dana on her shoulder "I'm just showing her around the place"

the woman nodded then extended a hand "Karen Archer"

"Hi" said Dana, shaking Karen's hand.

Dana glanced around the room "How many people are here?"

"In this room alone, about two hundred and three" said Pariah "In the whole building, close to five hundred twelve"

Dana eyes widened in awe "That's a lot of mouths to feed" "You have no idea" said Karen.

Dana frowned "How do they get here without encountering the infected?" "Tunnels" answered Karen.

Karen crossed her arms "There are tunnels that connect this building to subway and sewer lines. My guess is that Gentek used them as escape routes" Dana's eyes narrowed a little in suspicion.

Pariah frowned "Still don't trust us? Ask anybody here, they are free to come and go as they please. They are not our prisoners"

Dana nodded "Ok I will" she walked past Karen and went to a small group of people in one corner of the room. She sat down with them and they began to talk.

* * *

Once she was out of earshot, Karen turned to Pariah "So how goes tour?"

"Pretty well" said Pariah "I sense that she has doubts but they are slowly going away"

Karen nodded then asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

Pariah shook his head "No, we just need some more time" he looked over Karen's shoulder at Dana. She and some of the people she met were laughing about something.

Pariah smiled "When the time comes, she will be ready to trust us. When she finally does, she will finally take her place to play the role she was meant to"

Karen's eyes widened "You think so?"

Pariah nodded "Oh yes" Karen frowned and scratched the back of her neck "I don't know. I mean, are you sure its her?"

Pariah nodded "Yes I am quite sure. She is perfect for the part" Karen turned and the two watched Dana as she talked with a woman and her children.

The corners of Karen's mouth spread a little "I'll be damned, your right. She's perfect" Karen glanced at Pariah "Good call"

"Thank you" said Pariah, modestly.

A man appeared beside Pariah "Hey guys, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing" said Karen "Just looking at Pariah's new pal. He says she's the one we've been looking for"

"Is she?" asked the man.

Pariah nodded in Dana's direction "See for yourself Roland"

the man followed Pariah's gaze and he spotted Dana. He muttered something then nodded "Yeah, I think so. She could be it".

Pariah glanced to Roland then said in surprise "Roland? What are you doing here?"

"Uh" said Roland. He thought for a moment then said "Oh right, Sabrina's back and she made contact with Heller"

"And?" asked Pariah.

Roland smiled "Went off without a hitch" Pariah smiled.

Everything was falling into place.

* * *

The sun had arisen over the Yellow Zone. The smoke and smog gave the sky a greenish, orange color.

Heller was perched on the edge of the highest building he could find, gazing out over the cordoned off section of the city.

It had been hours since he encountered that woman. He spent most of that time avoiding BlackWatch patrols in the Yellow Zone and trying to find breakfast.

So far he managed to stay below radar but he couldn't keep it up for much longer.

BlackWatch was everywhere. They constantly patrolled the streets; they did random searches and harshly punished anyone who they thought was an offender.

The worst part of the Yellow Zone was the living conditions.

Heller heard that the Yellow Zone was supposed to be some sort of quarantine zone where those who have the virus could be treated.

But what he saw seemed like the opposite. The streets were filthy. People lived in shanties in alley's, parks and in the streets. High walls with guard towers surrounded the entire Yellow Zone, making it impossible for anyone to snoop around inside the walls.

Heller sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

He glanced at his hands and thought about his newly acquired powers. Heller clenched his fists. He can use his powers to do good. He can help bring down BlackWatch and save Maya and Dana.

Heller noticed something. He blinked a few times then muttered, "Wait a minute. I know this neighborhood".

His eyes were fixed on a small street that looked familiar. It looked like a regular neighborhood but the street was now covered with shanties and makeshift huts.

He noticed a large church a short distance away from the neighborhood "That's my church" muttered Heller.

It was his old neighborhood, where he and Maya lived before the first outbreak.

Heller got up from his perch "Wonder if Father Guerra's in" mused Heller "Could use some spiritual advice right now".

Heller took a few steeps back and he took a running start off the roof. Heller focused on his powers and he felt himself glide across a fair distance and he landed on the roof an apartment building, a few hundred yards away.

Heller glanced around and noticed that no one in the street seemed to panic. They might not have seen him or cared.

Heller sighed in relief and he glided again till he reached an alley across the street from the church.

Heller crossed the street and approached the church.

* * *

As Heller approached the large, gothic building, he noticed a man spray painting a wooden board that covered one of the windows.

The man turned and he spotted Heller. The man dropped to his knees and crossed himself, muttering a prayer.

Heller recognized the man and he knelt down "Father, I'm not going to hurt you"

Father Guerra looked up and he breathed "James".

Heller helped the priest to his feet "What are you doing here?" asked Father Guerra

"I've come to talk" said Heller.

Father Guerra glanced around and he muttered, "We must get inside, quickly" he and Heller entered the abandoned church.

Heller noticed that how much had changed since he last visited.

The windows were boarded up, letting in only little slivers of light. The church used to be light and tranquil but now it all seemed dark and grim to Heller.

Father Guerra motioned Heller to sit and the two sat down in one of the pews "Now tell me, what is it you want to talk about?" said the priest.

Heller took a deep breath and he told him everything that has happened so far.

In the middle of his story the doors opened, letting in the cold morning air and the two saw standing there was Miss Martian, Beast Boy and Blue Beetle.

Heller said loudly "about time you show up"

"James!" exclaimed Miss Martian. She ran over and gave him a hug.

Heller frowned in confusion "Ok, what's with the hug?"

"We thought you were dead" said Blue Beetle.

Heller's brows furrowed "Why?"

"Colonel Rooks told us that your transport was attacked and the infected took you" said Beast Boy "He said they tore you to shreds".

Heller nodded "Well that's only part of the truth"

"Part of the truth?" said Miss Martian.

Heller ignored the question and asked "How did you find me?"

"It was an accident really" said Blue Beetle "Rooks wouldn't let us in to see the Yellow Zone, so we decided to have a little field trip in"

"Once we were past the guards, I picked up some of your thoughts" added Miss Martian "So we followed your thoughts here".

Beast boy glanced around the gloomy church "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I used to come to this church before I was shipped off" said Heller "Thought i could find an old friend here".

"Did you?" asked Miss Martian.

Heller nodded and gestured to Father Guerra "This is him, Father Guerra. I was just explaining to him what happened to me"

"Yes and it was getting good too" said Father Guerra.

The priest got up and shook the hands of the three heroes "I heard so much about you three" said the man. He smiled "I'm glad to see you here".

Heller motioned to a pew "Pull up a seat, I was just getting to the good part".

Miss Martian, Blue Beetle and Beast Boy sat down. Heller retold them the beginning and he told them about what happened with Rooks and Riley. He told them about his new powers and he shifted his arm into a blade. Everyone looked at Heller in shock and before anyone could interrupt him with questions, he told them of his encounter with the woman and what she told him.

Once he finished he took a deep breath "and that's how I got here".

Everyone sat in silence, absorbing what Heller had told them. Father Guerra was the first to speak "That is quite a story James but I don't understand why you've come to me?"

"I've come to you because you know things father" said Heller "You hear things. I came because I need your help".

Father Guerra nodded "Yeah, I heard a lot of things. Most of its bad"

Miss Martian asked, "What happened?"

Father Guerra said grimly "The infection…it just swept everyone away. I tried to help…I did everything…then there was BlackWatch…"

Father Guerra shook his head and his body began to tremble.

Heller placed a hand on the man's shoulder "It's ok father".

Beast boy spoke up "What about BlackWatch?"

"What did they do?" asked Heller.

The priest looked up, his eyes were full of fear and sorrow "They rounded up the healthy. Put 'em in camps. Gave them the disease" his voice faltered a little but he continued "Put them in cages with the monsters…some old friends and I, we…tried to get them out but they caught us and…"

Father Guerra grabbed his crucifix and mumbled something. He looked up at the ceiling then to Heller "You don't screw with BlackWatch".

Heller shook his head "Damn"

"T-that doesn't make sense" said Blue Beetle "They work for the government, they're supposed to help people" "They're supposed to cure people" added Beast Boy.

Heller glanced to the two young Meta humans "You weren't there, the first time. You don't know what BlackWatch is capable of…the last time BlackWatch was brought in to help…they nearly wiped Manhattan off the map"

"The nuke" said Miss Martian "The nuke that destroyed the _Reagan, _it was meant for New York, not for Alex".

"What?" exclaimed the two in shock.

In the days following the first outbreak, BlackWatch told the media that Alex was too powerful for any weapon they had, so they claimed to have lured Alex to the Reagan and used the nuke to kill would explain the use of a nuclear weapon on a united states warship.

Blue Beetle shook his head "This doesn't make sense, why would they do this"

"I don't know" said Heller "But all I know is that BlackWatch is up to something and it ain't good".

Miss Martian glanced at Heller "The woman. Do you think she's telling the truth?"

Heller nodded a little "Right now, what she's saying is starting to make sense, we're going to need to look a little deeper into Gentek and BlackWatch".

Father Guerra spoke up "If you're going to bring them down, you can count on me".

Heller smiled "Thanks father" he scratched his chin and thought for a moment.

Heller turned to the priest "Do you know who's in charge of the Yellow Zone"

Father Guerra shook his head "I don't know any names but I know that there are two commanders at the hospital, they turned it into a command post".

He gave Heller a worried look "James, if you are going to look into this, please try not to cause too much trouble"

"Father, if what that woman said was true, than BlackWatch is responsible for the outbreak" said Heller "They're responsible for the deaths of many civilians and soldiers. What would you do?"

Father Guerra sighed, "Just be careful, Ok?"

Heller got up and headed for the exit, Miss Martian, Beast boy and Blue Beetle followed after him.

Father Guerra looked up at the sky through a small hole in the ceiling. He crossed himself and prayed for luck for Heller.

Heaven knows he's going to need it to bring down BlackWatch, thought the priest.

* * *

Several miles off the coast of Manhattan, a small, black submarine surfaced.

Inside, two Atlantian technicians reported, "Sir, we have reached Manhattan, we're out of their radar range as requested"

Kaldur rose from his seat "When shall we arrive?"

"By nightfall" answered one of the technicians.

Kaldur nodded "Good. Assemble the strike force, we shall go ashore and find the cause of this disease"

"Yes sir" said the technicians.

The technician's ran off to work, leaving Kaldur alone with his thoughts.

He managed to slay the Hunter but it had badly damaged most of the ship and wounded more of the crew before it was stopped.

Kaldur recognized the Black Light virus's handy work but he could've sworn that it was finally eradicated in the last outbreak.

Something didn't sit right with Kaldur. Something about this virus was different. He was not sure what it was, but he will find out.

End of Chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well here you go. i hoped you enjoyed that. Have a happy Thanksgiving! Please review!)**


	5. Ch 5: First Blood

**(a/n: well here you go, a new chapter, just in time for new years. sorry if its a little short. Happy New Years!)**

* * *

Ch.5: First Blood

Darkness came to New York and with it, came a bitter cold.

Nightwing, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Beast Boy and Father Guerra hid in the shadows of the large church, waiting for Heller.

Earlier that day, Miss Martian contacted Nightwing and told him that Heller was alive and she explained what had happened and some of the things BlackWatch was doing in the Yellow Zone.

Nightwing was shocked at what they had told him.

Eventually, Nightwing joined up with them at the church.

Hours before Nightwing arrived, Heller departed. When Miss Martian asked where he was going, he gruffly replied "Business".

A few hours later, Nightwing arrived. Now they waited in the dark and the cold for Heller to return.

Nightwing studied their surroundings. The Yellow Zone was in shambles.

It wasn't as chaotic as the Red Zone nor was it as clean as the Green Zone but it was sort of in-between.

People were dirty and lived in dozens of shanty's and run down buildings, while BlackWatch soldiers patrolled the streets and kept a tight control at each exit.

Beast Boy shivered "Where is he? I'm getting bored"

"I'm right here" said the voice of Heller.

The young heroes turned and saw Heller climbing the front steps of the church, his hands in his pockets and his expression was calm.

Nightwing smiled "Good to see that your alive"

Heller smiled a little "It's going to take more than some infected to kill me"

"Where were you?" asked Miss Martian.

Heller's smile faded and he explained "Father Guerra told me that there were two BlackWatch officers in charge of the Yellow Zone, so I paid them a little visit"

"And?" asked Nightwing.

Heller's expression darkened "Lets just say we were less cordial with each other but that's not the bad part"

"There's a bad part?" said Blue Beetle.

Heller took a deep breath and explained "From what I learned, BlackWatch has several test sites all over the Yellow Zone but they are using only one and they are using it tonight"

"Test site?" asked Nightwing

"Something about controlled release of specimens" said Heller

"What dose that mean?" asked Miss Martian.

Heller shrugged "Don't know" he turned to Father Guerra "Father, any ideas?"

the priest blanched and he nodded "Yes but if what say is true, then you must stop them"

"Stop them from doing what?" asked Beast Boy

"BlackWatch is going to trap healthy humans and unleash the infected monsters on them, letting the beasts tear them to shreds" said Father Guerra.

Everyone gaped at the priest "What?" exclaimed Nightwing.

Father Guerra turned to Heller "Do you know which testing site they are using?"

"Yeah, Testing Site Washington" said Heller.

Father Guerra scratched his chin and muttered something then said aloud "That's the park, seven blocks away from here"

Heller nodded "Ok" he turned to the others "Lets go, no time to lose" he turned and took off running, the young heroes followed after him.

* * *

Pariah led Dana trudged through the darkness carefully.

He held onto her hand and he led his blindfolded guest down the long and narrow tunnel.

Dana muttered a few curses every time she knocked into some low hanging lights that were rattled loose long ago or bumped into some rubble that was left strewn all across the stone floor.

After she had bumped into another low hanging object, Dana asked "Are we there yet? I'm not sure I can take any more of this"

Pariah nodded "We are almost there, I promise".

After they had visited the people in the basement, Pariah took Dana to the roof and showed her what lied outside the safety of the building.

Dana saw nothing but utter ruin that stretched on as far as she could see.

Dana said that even though New York was in bad shape, it still didn't completely convince her that Pariah was actually good.

After a few hours on the roof, and a few hours after sunset, Pariah told Dana that he wanted to show her something.

He handed her a blindfold and told her that she had to wear it because it was a surprise.

Dana reluctantly agreed, after she threatened to kill Pariah if he was planning on playing some sick joke.

Pariah promised and he led her down some stairs and through some halls.

After several minutes of blindly stumbling through darkness, Dana heard Pariah say, "Here we go" she heard metal groan and Pariah led her on and eventually they came to a stop.

She felt the blindfold coming off and she saw Pariah pulling off the blindfold.

Dana blinked a few times and her adjusted to the darkness. She saw that they were standing an empty tunnel. The walls were made of smooth concrete and steel columns held up the ceiling.

Dana noticed that they were standing at the bottom of a rusty ladder that leads upwards.

Dana frowned "Where are we?"

"Go up and find out" said Pariah, he stepped away from the ladder.

Dana just shrugged and climbed up the ladder. When she got to the top, she found a metal hatch blocking her ascent.

Dana twisted the handle and the hatch opened easily, letting in a dim orange light into the darkness.

Dana climbed out of the hatch and Pariah followed. Dana looked around at their surroundings in shock.

She turned to Pariah and asked, "W-where are we?"

"New York" answered Pariah "But to be specific, the Yellow Zone".

Pariah and Dana were standing in the middle of a small collection of makeshift huts and shanties. Illuminating the small shantytown were a series of electric lamps and small fires that crackled away in several trash cans.

It was cold but luckily Dana had a sweater and some of the nearby fires provided some heat.

Dana turned to Pariah and asked in confusion "Why did you bring me here?"

"To show you the state of the world" said Pariah, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Dana scowled "What do you mean?"

Pariah's eyes roved around their surroundings "This is New York, under the control of BlackWatch and the Justice League" Dana's eyes widened.

She let Pariah's words sink in. Eventually she said "This can't be, I mean BlackWatch, them I can see doing this but the Justice League?" Dana shook her head "No, I don't see it"

"Well this is only a small part of New York really" said Pariah "The Green Zone is worse"

Dana's eyebrow rose "Worse?"

"Yeah, in the Green Zone, life may continue on as if nothing is happening but it is worse than you can imagine" said Pariah as he kicked a discarded aluminum can.

Dana placed her hands on her hips "I can imagine a lot of things, so tell me, what makes the Green worse than the Red or Yellow?"

Pariah sighed, "BlackWatch has total control over everything and I mean everything. It's like a dictatorship over there. People live in relative safety, sure, but BlackWatch has eyes everywhere there. Anyone who questions them or ever tries to see what's happening to their neighbor here in the Yellow" Pariah made a slashing motion across his throat.

Dana nodded "That sounds like them"

"And that's not the half of it" said Pariah.

Before Dana could ask, a blood curdling scream and a monstrous roar interrupted her.

Dana's eyes widened "What was that?"

Pariah looked up at the sky and then to a watch on his wrist "My final presentation, but it looks like they're starting early"

"What?" asked Dana. Pariah just waved a hand "Oh its just something I want you to see to help you make up your mind about helping me".

He extended a hand to Dana "You want to see?"

Dana hesitated for a moment. Part of her told her no but a larger part of her wanted to know what was going on. If Pariah was telling the truth, if he really was the good guy, than it was probably worth checking out.

Dana gave Pariah her hand and he pulled her close.

He wrapped an arm around her and he said "Hold on tight, you might lose your lunch" Dana knew what was coming next.

She braced her self and the two rocketed upwards through the cold and the dark.

* * *

Cold air whipped at her face as Dana and Pariah began to plummet back to earth.

Before they hit the ground, their descent slowed a bit and they landed roughly on the roof of a building.

Once they had landed, Pariah let go of Dana, who wobbled a little. She looked at Pariah and said quietly "Don't do that again, ever"

Pariah shrugged "ok".

Dana took a deep breath and looked around at her surroundings "Where are we?"

"Our last stop on the tour" said Pariah.

The two walked to the edge of the building and looked down.

Dana's blood ran cold "I-is that…?"

Pariah nodded "Yes it is" he glanced at her then he waved a hand across the scene "Dana Mercer, welcome to Test Site Lincoln".

Twelve stories below them was a small park that was surrounded by a thick ring of trees and bushes.

In the park was a small encampment of people. They were all dressed in dirty clothes and they were all huddled around a few campfires trying to keep warm.

Unbeknownst to the people in the camp, surrounding the park's perimeter was a thick ring of metal fences and concrete barricades that was two city blocks thick.

Around the edges of the perimeter, Dana could see several BlackWatch tanks and dozens of soldiers standing guard.

Dana looked to Pariah "What is this?"

"BlackWatch has been doing these secret tests in the Yellow Zone" explained Pariah as he looked down at the park below "To the outside, this place is just a quarantine zone where the ill are treated but that's just a load of shit" he turned to Dana "This is the truth of the Yellow Zone, this is what my friends and myself have been fighting against".

The soft growl of trucks filled the cold, dark air.

Dana and Pariah turned their attention to the street below and saw four large trucks approaching the park.

Two approached from one direction, two from another. They circled the park and they came to a halt at two separate points. Dana strained to see but she could clearly see the rear of the trucks opening.

A few BlackWatch soldiers opened a series of gates that opened a clear path to the park through the thick maze of walls.

Dana squinted to see what was in the trucks and what she saw made her eyes almost pop out of her skull.

"No" she breathed.

From the backs of each of the BlackWatch trucks, several Infected scrambled out.

Some were Walkers while others were Hunters. The infected growled and snapped at the soldiers but the soldiers were able to funnel them through the gate.

Once each truck had finished unloading its cargo, the gates slammed shut and a crackle of energy ran through them. One infected Walker tried to touch the gate but it got a sharp zap of electricity.

The Infected edged away from the fence.

One of the infected sniffed the air and it growled something and the other infected sniffed the air as well.

Pretty soon the infected turned their attention towards the park at the heart of the barricades.

The infected began to make their way towards the park.

Dana's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She knew what was going to happen.

Once the infected reached the outer edges of the park, they quietly entered the bushes and trees, vanishing from Dana's view. The people who were camping in the park didn't seem to notice.

Dana wanted to yell and warn them but that would also alert BlackWatch. She could do nothing but stand there and watch.

At first everything seemed calm but suddenly a few people were pulled into the bushes by some dark shapes.

The other campers didn't notice.

But a little girl got up and began walking towards the bushes.

The bushes rustled and she stopped. The little girl must have notice something because she went rigid and she screamed.

The once calm and quite quickly dissolved into chaos.

The infected emerged from their hiding places and descended on the helpless campers. The campers tried to run but the infected had them surrounded. Within seconds, the infected were tearing into campers. Their screams filled the once silent air.

Dana watched in horror as a pair of hunters began to gnaw on a screaming woman and her children.

She turned away from the horrific scene and tried to block out the screams of agony.

She felt Pariah's arm wrap around her shoulder. Dana didn't move or try anything to shake off Pariah's arm. She only stood there and listened to the screams of the people down below.

Within minutes, the screams died. Dana and Pariah turned and watched as BlackWatch soldiers open the gates again.

The soldiers swarmed the park and they herded the infected out of the parks and back into the trucks.

Several soldiers stayed in the park and searched through the carnage. The bodies were shredded and unrecognizable.

At first, it seemed nobody survived, but Dana noticed a small shape move towards the soldiers. It was a boy who was barely five years old. He was covered in cuts and blood. Dana couldn't hear what was said but she saw the boy run towards the soldiers, probably thinking that they were there to help.

Before she could blink, a soldier raised his pistol and shot the boy in the head. The boy's body tumbled to the ground and landed at the feet of the soldiers.

Silence took over once again. The two watched as the BlackWatch soldiers gather up the remains into a pile, pour gasoline on them and ignited them.

As the corpses burned, the BlackWatch soldiers departed from the scene.

Once the soldiers were gone and all was silent again, Dana turned to Pariah and said softly "Ok…I'll bite, what can I do to help?"

Pariah smiled and he said, "I'll explain on the way" they turned and walked away from the scene of death, making their way back home.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Yellow Zone, Heller, Miss Martian, Nightwing, Beast Boy and Blue Beetle returned to the church where Father Guerra waited for them.

He was sitting in one of the pews and was reading in complete silence.

Heller spoke "Father" his voice echoed through the silent church, reaching the ears of the priest.

Father Guerra turned and he said quietly "James? Did you go to the park?"

"Yeah" said Heller, nodding a little.

Father Guerra closed his bible and asked hopefully "Did you stop them?"

Heller sat down beside the priest "We stop the hell out of them".

Heller explained that he and the young heroes managed to get to Test Site Washington in time to knock out the guards and destroy the trucks that still had the infected.

Once they destroyed the trucks, they let the people who were trapped in the park free and they wiped the memories of the soldiers so they won't be able to remember that it was Heller or the others.

Father Guerra looked up at the ceiling and he muttered something.

Heller frowned "Father, are you ok?"

Father Guerra nodded "Yes" he rose from his seat and he turned to Heller and the others "Come, we have much to do, if we're going to stop BlackWatch from committing any more atrocities".

Father Guerra led Heller and the others through the church till they reached a small door.

The priest opened the door and led them down some stairs, into the basement.

As they descended, Father Guerra explained, "There are over ten thousand BlackWatch troops stationed inside New York and who knows what Gentek is doing in those laboratories" once at the bottom of the stairs, Father Guerra fumbled for the light switch.

He found it and he switched on the lights. The lights flickered on, revealing a large basement; the walls were covered in newspaper clippings, maps with marks on them. There was a desk with a computer and boxes on it.

Father Guerra turned to Heller "We need to shut them down".

The priest went over to the desk and he began to move the boxes off the table.

The young heroes inspected the basement "Nice place you have here" commented Blue Beetle

"Thanks" said Father Guerra.

Heller frowned "So you trust that woman?"

Father Guerra shook his head "Not entirely, but if that woman and her friends want to put stop every last one of those BlackWatch and Gentek bastards" he glanced at Heller and smiled "Than I'm with her".

Heller smiled "What about God? He okay with this?"

Father Guerra sat down in the seat behind the desk saying, "You let me worry about him" he extended a hand to Heller.

Heller shook the priest's hand saying, "Lets get tor work".

* * *

Back in the Red Zone, after Dana returned to her quarters, Pariah made his way to level twenty-six.

Once there, he went straight to Lab-103.

Inside the lab were Sabrina, Roland and the cage containing the alien they named Steve.

Pariah sighed "Ok, I'm here, what is it?"

Sabrina waved him over "Your just in time, you'll love this"

Pariah walked over to the table and he saw Steve curled up on the floor of the cage, twitching and moaning.

Suddenly sores and growths began to sprout all over the alien's body. Its skin changed to a dark grey and its teeth began to turn into razor sharp fangs. The alien thrashed about screaming in pain.

Large, sharp claws emerged from its tiny fingers and its body began to grow.

The alien grew till it was twice its original size then it stopped and the alien went still.

Sabrina smiled "Complete conversion, White Light Batch 3 is successful."

"What shall we call this type of infected?" asked Roland.

Pariah smiled "How about Gremlin?".

The two nodded "That sounds right" said Sabrina.

Roland studied the tiny infected "It dose look like one of those creatures from that movie".

Roland picked up the cage and he placed it on the ground. The three heard the newly infected shifting around the cage. Roland opened it and the Gremlin infected stumbled out of the cage.

The infected looked around at its surroundings and when it noticed Pariah, it bowed its head in respect.

Pariah stepped aside and told it that it was free to go, as long as it didn't harm any of his guests.

The Gremlin grinned and skittered off, giggling happily.

Pariah sighed, "They grow up so fast".

Roland scooped up the cage and placed it on the table.

Sabrina asked Pariah "Sooo…how was the tour?"

"It went just as I hoped" said Pariah.

He smiled and nodded to Roland "Thanks for arranging that little demonstration"

Roland shrugged "No problem".

Sabrina's eyebrow rose "So she agreed to help?" Pariah nodded.

Pariah couldn't help but smile. Everything was going better than he expected.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well i hope you enjoyed that. again, sorry if its shorter than the last chapter. Happy New Year! and don't forget to review)**


	6. Ch 6: Infiltration

**(a/n: i hope you enjoy this. Review!)**

* * *

Ch.6: Infiltration

Dana sighed and rolled up her sleeve.

Once her sleeve was rolled up, she said, "Ok, I'm ready"

Sabrina sterilized a part of Dana's skin and inserted a needle into her veins. Dana's hand curled up into a fist, Sabrina raised an eyebrow "You ok?"

"Yeah" said Dana, who's breathing started to become more rapid "I just don't like needles".

Sabrina snorted and she watched as blood began to flow through the small plastic tube connected to the needle and into small plastic bag on the other end.

Pariah sat on a nearby counter, watching as Dana's blood fill the plastic IV bag.

Earlier that evening, Pariah briefed Dana that he needed her assistance with perfecting the White Light formula.

He explained that the White Light virus was effective and powerful but it was also flawed. Pariah went on and explained that while he treated many injured and ill with White Light, there were still many who's bodies where rejecting the virus.

Dana asked how she could help. Pariah explains that White Light is a flawed variation of Black Light and he need's to study some of Dana's blood, saying that he believes that he could find the answers in her genes.

Dana asked him what was so special about her genes. Pariah explained that there are certain genetic markers in certain people that make them unique above all others.

Dana asked what was so special about the genetic marker. Pariah grinned and said that the genetic marker was able to make that individual a catalyst, some one who was able to make great changes to the virus. He used Alex as an example. Pariah explained that Alex had certain genetic markers that enabled him to survive it, to carry it, to change it and to use it.

Pariah concluded that he may be able to find similar results in Dana's blood, which he would replicate and he would use it to complete the White Light virus, overcoming the rejections and cure people.

Sabrina withdrew the needle from Dana's arm "All done" she announced.

Sabrina placed a band-aid where the needle once was "There, now that wasn't so bad" said Sabrina.

Dana rubbed her arm "Yeah, I guess".

Sabrina took the bag of blood and left the room.

Dana looked to Pariah "I've been wondering, why is Amaya here?"

"Like you, she has unique genes that will help us finish the White Light virus" explained Pariah "Both of your blood will help our research considerably".

Dana smiled "Good, I'm glad that I can do something useful"

Pariah smiled "Me too".

He clapped his hands together "So, how about some dinner?"

Dana's smile widened a bit "Good, I'm starving", the two left Lab-103.

As they walked down the hall Pariah said, "I hope you enjoy military rations and day old doughnuts" "My favorite" joked Dana. They got on the elevator descended to the lower floors.

* * *

Meanwhile in a separate lab in the building, Sabrina placed the blood bag on the table and a small glass vile filled with a dark purple liquid next to it.

She picked up a syringe and she used it to combine a drop of the liquid with a drop of Dana's blood.

Sabrina placed the drop of blood on a glass slide and placed it under a microscope. Sabrina adjusted the dials till the sample came into focus. Her eyes widened "My god".

She looked up from the microscope and she replaced the slide with a new one that contained another drop of blood that was combined with a different liquid.

Sabrina looked into the microscope and her heart began to beat faster "Oh my" she muttered. Sabrina couldn't help but grin.

She plucked up both of the slides containing Dana's blood saying happily, "Dana Mercer, you are perfect!"

Suddenly she heard her cell phone ring. Sabrina pulled out her phone and answered "What?" a voice on the other line spoke in a hush tone.

Sabrina's smacked herself on the face groaning "Oh, right I forgot…I'll be there in a minute…just, just stall them".

She hung up the phone and she shoved her phone back into her pocket. Sabrina went to a storage closet and quickly changed out of her casual clothes and put on a clean business suit.

Sabrina finished the ensemble by placing a pair of glasses on her face.

As she walked out of the lab, she glanced back at the slides of blood muttering, "This might actually work after all".

* * *

In the Yellow Zone, Heller, Nightwing and Miss Martian crouched behind cover on the rooftop.

Heller peered from behind cover and caught a glimpse of the target.

Across the street was a small Gentek building that sat in the heart of a military compound. A large metal fence surrounded the compound.

The front gates were made of a thick metal that looked like it could withstand a tank and guards posted outside the gates were armed to the teeth.

Earlier that evening, they managed to hunt down a Dr. Billingsley. They questioned him about BlackWatch's experiments but he didn't talk. So Miss Martian picked through his mind and found a memory of him talking with a woman named Sabrina and that of a nearby facility. They erased his memories and made him think that everything was fine.

Following the memory they pulled from Billingsley, the team followed the address in the memory, which led them to the facility.

Heller switched on his communicator "Father, We're at the lab"

"_Alright listen up James" _said Father Guerra "_All BlackWatch and Gentek Facilities use biometric security. Retinal scans, blood-testing, things like that. Getting in won't be easy"_

"Relax Father, it's going to be easier than you think" said Heller.

Heller switched off the communicator and he turned to Nightwing and Miss Martian. They nodded and the three of them sprung into action.

* * *

Heller, disguised as a BlackWatch officer, Miss Martian, invisible and Nightwing dressed in a stolen BlackWatch uniform, marched across the compound towards the main building.

Heller shape shifted into a BlackWatch soldier and he accessed the front gates. They managed to pass the preliminary security checks and were now heading towards the main labs.

The three came to a door with a biometric hand scanner. Heller glanced around and he shifted his arm to that of a commander he absorbed hours ago. He placed his hand on the scanner. The scanner beeped and the lock on the door clicked open.

Heller opened the door and the three slipped inside.

Inside was a spacious room that contained a pair of BlackWatch trucks they used to transport troops, people and infected.

A dozen soldiers and scientists went about their business, ignoring the three intruders.

Heller's eyes roved around the room till they landed on a single scientist in a blue HAZMAT suit.

The scientist approached a door on the far side of the room and he punched in a code. The lock beeped and a computerized voice spoke "Access granted, Head Scientist, Doctor Genovese".

The door opened and Doctor Genovese walked through the door.

Heller motioned to the door Doctor Genovese passed through and Nightwing nodded in understanding. The three made their way to the door and Heller tried to punch in the access code but the lock beeped saying "Access denied".

Heller scowled and he glanced around the room.

Someone in the base had to have the access code. Suddenly a strange feeling overcame him. It felt like that someone, or something in the room was radiating something that made Heller feel uneasy.

Heller decided to go with his feeling and he marched towards another door on the other side of the room.

Miss Martian and Nighwing followed "_What are you doing?" _asked Miss Martian, telepathically

"_Don't know, I'm just going with a gut feeling" _replied Heller.

They opened the door and entered the room. What they saw almost made Miss Martian gasp out loud.

Inside were at least a dozen cages filled with people of various ages dressed in shabby clothing. They all looked malnourished and sick.

A pair of guards marched around the room.

A dark haired woman cradling a baby cried, "Please let us go, my baby is sick" "Shut up!" barked one of the guards.

Miss Martian looked around the room in horror "_This is terrible"_

_ "There's nothing we can do now" _said Heller "_We got to find Dr. Genovese"_.

Heller walked into the room and he froze. The weird vibe Heller had grew stronger.

A voice came on over the BlackWatch radio Nightwing carried "Stratus two four, this is Stratus. Prepare for another sweep, over"

A voice replied, "Stratus, this is Dr. Genovese, Can you do my team a favor and please bring a few of the agitators back alive?"

"Copy that doctor" said the first voice "Shouldn't be a problem. Standard spread?"

"Yes please" said Dr. Genovese "As wide a range as possible through ages and ethnicities. Oh and no fatties this time, the containment tanks are too narrow so we had to gas the last ones and toss them out"

"Roger that Doc" said the voice.

Miss Martian gasped, "_They're going after more people" _

_"We got to do something" _said Nightwing.

Heller grumbled something to himself then nodded. Heller nodded to one of the guards "_Get the code from him so we can get to Genovese, then we can do something about these people"_.

Miss Martian nodded and she used her telepathy to pick through the soldier's mind.

She shifted through a lot of chaotic memories till she found the code. An image flashed through her mind that made her heart stop.

Immediately she pulled out of the soldiers mind and said "_I got the code"_

_ "Something wrong?" _asked Nightwing, noticing a sense of urgency in Miss Martian's tone

"_I think I found something" _she said "_But it'll have to wait, for now, lets get Genovese"_.

Heller nodded and the three left the room filled with cages. Heller punched in the code and the door slid open "Access granted" droned the computer.

Heller, Nightwing and Miss Martian passed through the open doorway and the three found themselves in a spacious lab. It was filled with tables, shelves crates and other lab materials. But what troubled Heller was that it was filled with other scientists in HAZMAT suits and a few soldiers.

Heller shook his head "_Why is this never easy?"_

He motioned Nightwing to guard the door. Heller and Miss Martian carefully navigated their way through the occupied lab.

Once they were close enough, Miss Martian quietly accessed Dr. Genovese's mind.

She was linked with Heller's mind so he could help search through the vast amounts of information.

After a minute of searching, Heller grumbled, "_He doesn't know anything" _

_"We can use his access code to get on to their database" _suggested Miss Martian.

Heller shrugged and he returned to the door with Miss Martian and the trio left the lab and went in search of a terminal.

* * *

After a few minutes of searching, Heller found a computer in an empty corner office of the building.

He told Miss Martian and Nightwing to try and free as many people as they can and smuggle them out while he download the files they require.

Heller sat down and muttered, "_Ok, I'm going to press this" _he clicked one of the buttons on the screen then the screen turned blue "_Damn it" _he rebooted the computer and he pressed a different button that brought up personnel files "_That's more like it" _thought Heller.

He inserted a thumb drive and he downloaded all the files that he needed. Once he completed the download, he logged off the computer.

He left the corner office and he quietly made his way towards the exit. Heller reached out with his mind "_Got the files, you guys clear?"_

_ "Just about" _said Nightwing.

Heller smiled "_Good, now meet me at the rendezvous point" _

_"Got it" _said Nightwing and Miss Martian.

Heller got to the exit and he slipped out unnoticed.

* * *

Or so he thought.

A BlackWatch soldier was watching him the whole time from a distance.

He glanced around and he slipped out of the exit unnoticed as well. The soldier tailed Heller from a distance.

The soldier followed Heller out of the compound and down a few streets and alleys. Heller shifted back his normal form and he quickly ducked into an alley.

The soldier shifted as well, turning into a dark haired woman in casual clothes.

She stopped and she peered into the alley and she spotted Heller, with Nightwing dressed in a BlackWatch uniform and Miss Martian standing beside him.

The woman smirked and she pulled out a small camera from her pocket. She leveled it at the trio. The three were talking about something in hushed tones. Heller fished a small thumb drive from his pocket.

The woman snapped a few shots of Heller holding it and another few of Heller handing it to Miss Martian.

Once she got what she wanted, the woman slipped away and she studied the photos.

While she got a clear shot of Miss Martian and Nightwing receiving the thumb drive but Heller was only a silhouette and she couldn't clearly see him. But the woman didn't care.

She shoved the camera back into her pocket and she quickly retreated back to her post.

Karen Archer felt proud that she finally had something that Pariah could use to his advantage.

* * *

After downloading the files and freeing as many people as they can, Heller, Nighwing and Miss Martian returned to the church where Father Guerra, Beast Boy and Blue Beetle waited.

Once there, Heller asked Miss Martian "So what's the big rush? What did you find in that soldier's mind?"

Miss Martian took a deep breath and spoke "Dana and Maya are alive"

Heller's eyes widened "They are?"

Miss Martian nodded "And I know where they are".

* * *

In the Green Zone, Batman and Colonel Rooks sat alone in a private conference room.

Earlier Batman had received information from Nightwing that BlackWatch and Gentek were experimenting on people in the Yellow Zone.

Nightwing also reported that they were also experimenting with infected.

Batman didn't know what to make of it, so he decided to talk with Colonel Rooks.

If Colonel Rooks and Gentek were experimenting on people, he would know for sure.

Batman glared at the Colonel "What are we waiting for?"

"The last member of this meeting" said Rooks, coolly.

After a few minutes of silence, the door opened and in stepped a woman dressed in an expensive business suit.

The woman had long black hair, pale skin and dark eyes. She wore a pair of glasses on her face and she carried a briefcase.

Colonel Rooks and Batman stood "Sorry I'm late" apologized the woman "Traffic was hectic"

"It's alright" said Colonel Rooks.

The woman walked over to Batman and shook his hand saying, "Nice to meet you"

"Likewise Miss…" said Batman

"Galloway" said the woman "Sabrina Galloway, CFO of Gentek".

* * *

In the Red Zone, Pariah, Dana and Amaya ate dinner in the basement with the refugees that Pariah and his associates rescued. Pariah was in the middle of telling a joke when he heard his phone ring.

Pariah smiled and said politely "Pardon me, i have to take this".

He walked out into the quite, empty hall and he answered "What is it?"

"_We've been compromised" _said the voice of Karen Archer.

Pariah scowled "How?" "_Heller and the Junior Justice league broke into Facility B and they stole some files" _explained Karen "_But they also picked through Nick's mind and they got our location" _

Pariah cursed but Karen spoke "_Theres something else"_ "What else?" growled Pariah.

Karen explained and Pariah's eyes narrowed. Finally, when Karen finished explaining, he said "We might be able to use this to our advantage".

End of Chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: Well what do you think? Please review!)**


	7. Ch 7: Misfortune

**(a/n: Enjoy and Review)**

* * *

Ch.7: Misfortune

Pariah sat in his large comfy chair.

He stared at all his trusted followers that had gathered around the large, empty room.

Earlier he received a call from Karen Archer and told him that they were compromised and the Young heroes are on their way with James Heller. So he called a meeting to all of his available operatives to discuss this new development.

Only seven of his operatives arrived at the meeting but he was glad that they arrived.

They were his brothers and sisters, his Evolved. They were people who were broken and lost till he found each of them at rock bottom with no hope for recovery.

He gave them new purpose and new life. In return, they promised to fight by his side and aid him in his cause to build paradise on earth.

Among them were his close friends Roland and Karen Archer.

His other evolved agent's were Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Collins, commander of all BlackWatch's Tank units, Lindsay Bendhurst, a convicted murderer responsible for the deaths of several individuals.

Nick Frost, a new addition and a spy in BlackWatch's infantry.

Dennis Wayne, another spy in Gentek and Anton Koenig, lead Virologist and Colonel Rooks' advisor.

Pariah's eyes darted to each of his operatives and he finally spoke "Gentlemen, ladies, we are in a predicament"

"What is it?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Collins

"Our operation has been compromised" answered Pariah.

All of the evolved gasped and Roland asked "How?" "My bad" mumbled Nick.

His fellow evolved glared at him and they all looked ready to rip him to shreds but Pariah held up a hand saying calmly "Don't be mad at him" all the evolved looked to Pariah.

Pariah lowered his hand "Now is not the time for us to panic my brothers and sisters" Pariah rose to his feet "Right now, our enemy is marching for our hive, intending to destroy years of hard work and careful planning"

Pariah's tone grew dark "And we can't let them".

The evolved all nodded "Let me at 'em" growled Lindsay Bendhurst "Once I'm through with them, not even Superman will be able to find their remains"

Karen Archer nodded in agreement "Count me in, those little snots need to be put in their place".

Pariah stroked his chin thoughtfully "That will solve some of our problems but we won't be taking that course of action, not yet at least"

"So we're just going to sit here and do nothing?" said Dennis Wayne in disbelief.

Pariah smiled "I didn't say that"

Roland smiled as well "You got a plan?"

Pariah nodded "Oh yes. A nice little plan that should keep the young heroes and their mentors off our backs for a while" all the evolved looked at their boss with interest

"So what's this magnificent plan of yours?" asked Dr. Anton Koenig.

Pariah's eyes gleamed and he explained his plan to his subordinates.

* * *

A half hour after the meeting, Pariah and his subordinates dispersed.

Collins, Bendhurst and Karen split up and went to all the living quarters in the building, all in disguise and begin evacuations.

Koenig departed the hive through a secret tunnel at top speed, directly towards the Green Zone carrying a package.

Meanwhile Dennis, Nick, and Roland followed Pariah. Pariah led them down the hall and up a few flights of stairs.

They reached one of the upper floors where it was completely empty.

Pariah stationed Nick and Dennis up on the upper floors and he ordered them to give him an update if they spot anything. The two nodded.

Pariah and Roland descended to the levels were some of the living quarters were. People started to fill the halls, all panicked and franticly gathering their possessions.

Roland frowned and he asked Pariah in a hushed tone "What did you have Karen tell them?"

"BlackWatch has found us and they are on their way to kill us" whispered Pariah.

Roland nodded. Most of the people there were survivors of the first outbreak and most were aware of BlackWatch's cruelty, making their lie easier to believe.

Pariah spotted Dana at the far end of the hall, helping an exhausted woman calm her sobbing children.

Pariah approached her. She spotted him "Pariah, what's going on?"

"It's BlackWatch" said Pariah sounding on edge "They've located us and they've sent someone to destroy us and our research"

"Who did they send?" asked Dana

Pariah shrugged "We don't know, it could be anyone. Tank units, super soldiers, the Justice League who knows"

Dana frowned "What do we do?"

"We evacuate these people" explained Pariah "We send them off to our fallback point along with our research notes and samples of the White Light virus".

Dana nodded "Ok, is there anything I can do?"

Pariah nodded "Yes, go with these people and make sure the research materials are safe"

Dana smiled "I can do that".

Suddenly the voice of Nick echoed through the halls "We got incoming!"

people began to panic and scream. Pariah instantly bellowed "Silence!" everything went silent.

He motioned towards a door that led to the stairwell and said softly "Everyone please make your way to the tunnels in an orderly fashion as we practiced, you will be escorted by Collins" he raised his voice a little "Karen, Bendhurst, Dennis and Nick will stay behind with me and we will hold back the enemy as long as we can. We will meet you at the fallback point"

Everyone stared at him for a few moments then people began to rush past him towards the stairwell in large droves.

Collins, dressed in a black jacket, a baseball cap, jeans and tennis shoes, stood by the door.

Karen pushed through the crowd and she reported to Pariah "Sections two and three have gotten through, anyone left?"

"Just this group" said Pariah nodding to the people who were rushing to the stairs.

Pariah turned to Dana "You and Maya must leave"

Dana nodded "Ok". She grabbed Amaya's hand and the two joined the evacuating crowd.

Once the last of the evacuee's had left, Pariah called his subordinates together.

Pariah glanced to each of his evolved then said, "Lets give our guests a warm welcome".

* * *

The Bioship soared over the Red Zone. The team looked down upon the ruined cityscape below.

Buildings had gaping holes in them, others were knocked over while some were leaning against nearby buildings like fallen logs.

The Bioship slowed and it came to a halt. The ship hovered in front of their destination.

Heller shook his head "You've got to be kidding me"

"They're in there?" said Blue Beetle in surprise.

Just a few yards ahead of them was the tall Gentek building where Elizabeth Greene was released during the first outbreak. Only this time, the building was in disrepair with the top four floors gone, it made the building look intimidating.

Heller squinted and he saw a flock of infected birds nesting on the top floors.

Suddenly he saw a shape move and a large, black object hurtling towards the Bioship.

"Look out!" yelled Heller.

But the warning came too late. The object struck the Bioship and there was a deafening boom that rocked the ship. The light inside the Bioship flickered and suddenly the ship began to hurtle towards the earth, spinning out of control.

Miss Martian tried to retain control of the ship, ignoring the massive amount of pain that she knew the Bioship was feeling and she tried to gain altitude.

But the ship plummeted out of the sky.

The passengers all braced for impact and the ship slammed into the old Gentek building.

* * *

A few moments after they crashed, Heller glanced around at the others "You guys alright?"

Blue Beetle, Beast Boy, Miss Martian and Nightwing nodded.

Miss Martian opened the ship's canopy and the team crawled out of the ship.

Heller saw that they were in the middle of a ruined office that was filled with old cubicles. Nightwing muttered "I can't believe we're back here again"

"I know" said Miss Martian, shivering a little

"What is this place?" asked Blue Beetle

"One of Gentek's office buildings" answered Nightwing "This was where we first fought Alex Mercer"

"Its more than that!" said a male voice.

Everyone looked around the darkened office for the source of the voice and they saw a figure in a dark grey hoodie standing at the opposite end of the office.

He ran a finger along a cubicle saying softly "This is where it all began…this was the birthplace of two of the greatest beings to have walked the earth" he turned his head towards the group.

Even though most of his face was covered in shadows, they could tell that he was scowling at them "Until you ended them…with a nuclear warhead" spat the figure.

Heller immediately recognized the figure. He was the man who gave him his powers.

"You!" growled Heller. The figure smirked "Oh Heller, I'm glad you recognize me" he put his hands in his pockets "So, do you like the powers I gave you?"

Heller snarled, "I wanna know what you've done to my daughter and to Dana"

the figure tilted his head to one side "How impolite".

Miss Martian tried to probe his mind but she was immediately forced out of his mind. The figure wagged his finger "No, no, no, bad little Martian girl. Poking around in another person's mind is rude"

"Who are you?" demanded Nightwing.

The figure stared at them for a moment then answered, "Pariah, my name is Pariah".

Nightwing's eyes widened "Pariah? As in Project Pariah?"

Pariah nodded "Yes. It seems you've done your homework, nice job". Beast Boy frowned in confusion "What's Project Pariah?"

"It's a little something Gentek did to me" answered Pariah "I was experimented on, starved, beaten and imprisoned for years. I lost my mother, I lost my father, I was only given a code as a name and I was treated like a dog. But I am free to make my way in this dirty little world".

Heller growled "Enough! I want to know where are you keeping Dana and Amaya!"

Pariah sighed, "Fine, if you wanna know so badly I'll tell you"

Pariah shrugged "I don't know where they are".

Heller, Miss Martian and Nightwing looked at Pariah in confusion "What?" said Heller.

Pariah shrugged again saying, "I don't know where they are. They left days ago. I hate to say it but your princesses are in another castle".

Without warning, Heller charged Pariah and tackled him. Heller threw Pariah against a wall and held his blade arm to Pariah's throat.

Pariah frowned "What's with the use of force?"

"You're lying!" snarled Heller as he jabbed the blade at Pariah's neck "You know where they are!"

"Uh, no I don't" said Pariah.

Before Heller could react, a fist struck him in the face and he was sent flying across the office, crashing into a cubicle. The young heroes looked and saw a blonde woman dressed in a black jacket and jeans. She whispered something to Pariah and he just nodded.

Heller got back on his feet and he was ready to tear the woman and Pariah apart but Nightwing stopped him. Heller glanced to Nighwing and Nightwing nodded in Pariah's direction.

In the shadows, Heller could see several other figures dressed in black, waiting for Heller to make a move.

Heller paused for a moment. The blond woman hit him pretty hard and if the figures in the dark could hit as hard as her, than Heller would have a bit of trouble fighting them all.

Nightwing scowled at Pariah "Who are you people?" "We're what you call evolved" said the blond woman.

Her arm shifted and turned into a large blade, similar to Heller's. The figures in the shadows shifted their arms into claws, massive stone fists and other weapons.

Pariah placed a hand on the woman's shoulder "We are the future, not you. You are flawed, obsolete and worthless"

Pariah smiled "And once you're all gone, we will build paradise upon the ashes of the old world" "Fat chance" growled Heller.

Pariah snapped his fingers and his evolved attacked.

* * *

Several floors below them, Dana was quickly making her way down to the tunnels alone when suddenly a loud boom sounded above her.

Dana frowned "They're here already?"

Dana had fallen behind the main group. She left Amaya in the care of a kind woman who she befriended and went back up to their room and retrieved some items for their journey. But by the time she returned to the stairwell everybody was gone. They had already gone through the tunnels.

As she trudged on, Dana heard some strange sounds coming from behind a nearby doorway.

She tiptoed to the door. On the other side of the door, she heard some voices speaking. She couldn't hear exactly what they said but she managed to catch a few words "_...Explosives…detonate…kill everything…"_

Dana's eyes widened. Somebody had planted explosives and was planning on killing everyone in the building.

Dana spun around and took off sprinting back up the stairs to warn Pariah.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Kaldur's lieutenant was directing his men to plant charges at the building's weak points.

Kaldur and several of his men had snuck on to the surface and had managed to avoid detection from BlackWatch and the Justice League. Kaldur also managed to track the Bioship deep into the Red Zone where, he guessed that they found who was responsible for the outbreak.

When the bioship crashed on the top floors, Kaldur and his men snuck in through the lower levels.

They searched some of the lower floors for anything that might pertain to the Black Light virus. But they found nothing. The entire building was clean.

Kaldur heard sounds of battle going on somewhere on the upper floors, so he decided to head to the upper floors to assist his former comrads battle the ones responsible for the Black Light virus.

Kaldur ordered his lieutenant to continue searching the building and to fall back to the ship once they finished.

When Kaldur left, his lieutenant decided that it might be best that he would take care of the situation on the upper floors his own way.

He ordered his men to find weak points in the building and to plant some powerful explosives.

As his men were carrying out their tasks, he told them over his communicator "Once the explosives are in place, set them to detonate on my mark. The combination of the explosion and the collapse of the building should be enough to kill everything in the building. Once you have completed your task, vacate the building and return to the ship. Is that understood?"

All the men responded in unison "Yes sir!"

Kaldur's lieutenant switched off his communicator and he quickly searched for an exit.

* * *

The battle wasn't going so well for Heller and the others. Pariah and his friends were tough.

They took the hits Heller and the others gave and they countered with powerful attacks. Miss Martian tried to probe their minds but they all kept her out of their minds.

Heller swiped at Pariah with his claws but Pariah just moved around his attacks with ease.

Each of them was engaging an opponent in battle. Except for Beast Boy and Blue Beetle, they both were fighting the blond woman who punched Heller.

Miss Martian was busy battling one of Pariah's men but another was slowly sneaking up behind her with a large blade ready to impale her.

Suddenly the man was knocked to the ground. Everybody turned and the team saw somebody they didn't expect to be there.

"Kaldur!" exclaimed Miss Martian. The Atlantian nodded to Miss Martain "M'gann".

Nightwing glanced at Kaldur "What are you doing here?" "Lending you assistance in ending the outbreak" said Kaldur.

Pariah laughed "Ah, the atlantian. I was wondering when you were going to show up"

Kaldur's eyebrow rose "Who are you?" "Pariah" said Pariah "I'm the one responsible for this beautiful outbreak"

"Beautiful?" said Miss Martian in disbelief "Its horrible, people are dying"

"That's what they do" retorted Pariah.

Pariah yawned, "As much as I have enjoyed this, I really believe that we must postpone this discussion for another night" Pariah evaded a lunge from Heller and he punched him.

The punch knocked the wind out of Heller's lungs and it sent him flying across the room, knocking into Blue Beetle. Beast Boy took his eyes off of the blond woman for a split second and the woman quickly swatted him aside.

Pariah turned to his other subordinates and nodded.

They quickly retreated into the shadows. Pariah and the woman quickly vanished into the shadows as well.

Nightwing barked "After them!" the team and Kaldur chased after them.

* * *

Pariah, Bendhurst, Karen, Nick and Dennis sprinted down the dark hall as quick as they can.

Once they reached a point where the hall split into three other directions, Pariah grunted "Split up".

Bendhurst and Karen turned left, Nick and Dennis turned right and Pariah continued moving forward.

Pariah continued down the hall when suddenly he bumped into somebody he didn't expect "Dana?" breathed Pariah "What are you doing here?"

"I…came to warn you" said Dana in between breaths "Somebody…planted bombs and its going to…kill everybody inside".

Pariah's eyes widened a little. He honestly didn't expect that.

Pariah nodded towards the end of the hall "Lets go, there's an exit down that way"

"What about the others?" asked Dana "They can take care of themselves" said Pariah.

The two turned and bolted down the hall. As they ran, Pariah telepathically relayed the information to his allies and gave them each a set of orders.

* * *

Yards behind them, the team hurried after Pariah his friends. They came to a part of the hall where the hall split into different directions.

They each went their own directions. Miss Martian and Heller went one way, Blue Beetle and Beast Boy went another and Nightwing and Kaldur continued down the original hall. Nightwing and Kaldur ran through darkness for a few moments.

Nightwing squinted a head and saw two shapes ahead.

He pulled out some Bolas and he threw them at one of the shapes.

The bolas hit their target and there was thud, Nightwing muttered, "Got one".

As they neared the downed target the two froze and stared down at the person in shock. Lying on the ground at Pariah's feet and struggling against the bolas was Dana Mercer.

Nighwing spoke "Dana? What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, trying to save lives and stuff" said Dana sarcastically "What about you?"

"Trying to save you and Amaya" said Nightwing.

Dana rolled her eyes "Well don't bother, we don't need saving".

Nightwing and Kaldur stared at her in surprise "Why?" asked Kaldur.

Dana shrugged "These guys haven't done anything to harm us. In fact they've taken good care of us"

Pariah nodded "Indeed".

Nightwing scowled at Pariah "Dana, these guy is dangerous. He's the one who started this outbreak"

"I know" said Dana "He told me everything"

"He has?" said Kaldur in surprise.

Dana nodded "Yeah, he told me everything. He hasn't really kept much a secret" she scowled at the two then said "Unlike you guys".

Nightwing's eyebrows rose "What do you mean?"

"You guys left my brother to die" said Dana coldly "And you let the entire country destroy his reputation even though you knew the truth"

"Dana-" began Nightwing but Pariah cut him off "Not to mention that you guys keep memorabilia of his death in your little club house for the whole world to see"

"Yeah" agreed Dana.

Nightwing's eyes drifted to Dana then back to Pariah. He could see a hint of a smirk forming on Pariah's face that screamed, "_I win!"_

Nightwing tried to talk but suddenly there was a loud boom that rattled the entire building. The ceiling above collapsed.

Quick as a flash, Pariah threw himself on Dana and shielded her from the falling debris.

Kaldur shouted, "Look out!" he shoved Nightwing out of the way of a large block of concrete that would've crushed his skull like an egg.

The debris continued to rain down on them till they were buried.

* * *

Outside of the building and about a block away from it, Karen Archer sat atop of the mound of atlantian bodies holding the detonator.

Pariah had told Karen to escape the building and search for the detonator of a bomb. Luckily she spotted some atlantians near by and she happened to see one carrying a detonator.

Before she could bat an eye, she slaughtered them and took the detonator.

When Pariah gave her the command telepathically, she hit the button and let only some of the bombs to blow.

Karen watched as the upper floors explode in a storm of fire, steel and concrete.

Karen shifted into her true form, she got up and she began the long journey to the new base.

The evolved glanced back at the burning building and muttered, "I hope you know what you are doing".

For the first time in a long time, Karen was worried because at this moment, Pariah was improvising.

* * *

G. Gordon Godfrey shuffled his papers and he prepared himself for the evening broadcast.

He was currently covering the outbreak in New York from inside a studio in the Green Zone. During his reports, he concentrated on the efforts of BlackWatch and the Justice League.

Mostly on BlackWatch, praising them on their efforts because they were human beings putting their lives on the line to save their fellow man.

He applauded the Justice league on occasion but he did criticize them every chance he got. But he felt that the league was doing something that the public had to know. Unfortunately, he didn't have proof and he didn't know what they were doing.

Suddenly his assistant walked up to him and handed him large envelope.

Godfrey frowned and asked "What's this?"

His assistant shrugged saying "I don't know, it just showed up. It's addressed to you".

Godfrey's frown deepened and he opened the envelope.

What he saw inside made his eyes to widen to the point where they almost popped out of his skull. Godfrey's assistant noticed his employer's expression "Sir, what is it?"

Godfrey smiled saying "Our biggest story yet!"

* * *

Across the Atlantic, Alex sat up and switched on the bedside lamp.

He had been enjoying a peaceful slumber with his wife when suddenly his cell phone's ring tone interrupted his pleasant dreams.

Alex picked up his ringing phone and growled "What?"

Alex listened to Ragland talk then his eyes widened "When? No…I didn't know"

He scratched his head and said "Every part of me says screw them but…since you put it that way I'll do it".

Alex smiled "Thanks Doc" he hung up and he crawled out of bed.

Elizabeth's green eyes opened a little mumbling "Huh?" her head rose from her pillow a little "Who is it? What's going on?"

"That was Ragland" said Alex as he got dressed "Apparently we're needed"

Elizabeth's eyebrow rose "Really?"

"Yep and this time it has something to do with Dana" said Alex.

Elizabeth got out of bed and she pulled on her clothes.

She turned and faced Alex "So, now what?"

"Pack your bags" said Alex "We're going home".

End of chapter

* * *

**(a/n: Well i hoped you enjoyed it. Please review!)**


	8. Ch 8: Speak No Evil

**(a/n: Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!)**

* * *

Ch.8: Speak No Evil

Nightwing's eyes fluttered open and were met by pitch-blackness.

He tried to sit up but he was pinned down by something heavy. Nightwing coughed and he squinted to see where he was. Suddenly it all came rushing back to him, Pariah, Dana, the explosion.

He felt some weight being lifted off of his body and bright lights temporarily blinded his eyes.

Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was looking up at Miss Martian. She was shifting rubble around with her telekinesis and holding a flashlight.

Nightwing scrambled to his feet and he brushed himself off. He was bruised, cut and a little battered but alive.

Nightwing coughed "Are you alright?"

Miss Martian nodded "Yeah, I was able to shield James and myself in time" "What about Blue Beetle and Beast boy?" asked Nightwing

"They're fine" answered a familiar voice. Nightwing turned and saw Beast Boy, Blue Beetle and Heller making their way through the rubble littered hall. The two young heroes were covered in dust and small cuts, but were fine.

Heller frowned "Everybody ok?" everyone nodded. Miss Martian asked the question that was on everyone's mind "Where's Pariah?"

Nightwing explained what happened before the explosion. Miss Martian, Heller, Blue Beetle and Beast Boy were shocked.

Miss Martian was the first to speak "So she was here?"

Nightwing nodded "Yeah but it seems that Pariah convinced her that we left Alex to die on the _Regan_" "Why would she think that?" asked Beast Boy. Nightwing, Miss Martian and Kaldur didn't say anything.

Finally, Nightwing said, "We did leave him behind but he told us to"

"Why didn't you tell her?" asked Blue Beetle

"We couldn't" said Kaldur "We tried to but we never saw her again after the first outbreak".

Heller scowled and shook his head "That bastard Pariah... I know Dana, she's a good kid. Pariah must've done something to get her on his side". Speaking of Pariah and Dana, Nightwing spun around and looked down the hall to where Pariah and Dana where. It was blocked by solid wall of debris.

He turned to Miss Martian "How long has it been since the detonation?" "Thirty minutes, probably forty" guessed Miss Martian "Why?"

"Pariah and Dana are probably gone by now" muttered Nightwing.

Suddenly Nightwing's communicator came to life "…_N…Nightwing, come in" _"This is Nightwing" said Nightwing, answering his communicator. The voice on the other end was Bumble Bee "Nightwing_, you and the others got to get back here in the Green Zone and fast"_

"What's wrong?" asked Miss Martian.

Bumble Bee didn't answer. There was silence than she said, "_Just get back to the Green Zone and fast, something big is going down"_.

The communicator went dead. After a moment of silence, Miss Martian said, "It sounds bad"

"Lets go" said Heller. The group turned and started down the hall but Nightwing stopped and glanced back at Kaldur "Are you coming?"

Kaldur frowned in confusion "You want me to come along?"

Nightwing nodded "For now. We might need your help" Kaldur stared at his former teammate for a moment then nodded. Kaldur hurried after Nightwing and the others.

* * *

Meanwhile, just a few feet away on the other side of the wall of ruble, Pariah finished clawing his way to freedom.

Once he was free of the rubble, he breathed the dust filled air deeply. After he got a breath of fresh air, he started digging around the rubble till he freed Dana as well.

As he dug, he smiled to himself. Everything was working out better than expected. But his smile instantly faded and muttered to himself "So much for that idea".

Dana was unharmed for the most part.

Her legs however, were gone. They were bloody stumps. There was nothing from the knees down.

Luckily Dana was unconscious. Carefully, Pariah scooped up the unconscious young woman and he stumbled down the ruined hall to the exit.

* * *

The team managed to get back to the Green Zone.

Miss Martian was able to pilot the bioship and land on the roof of the building that the Justice League and the team were using as their headquarters.

Everybody was surprised that Kaldur arrived with the team. Some were suspicious but everyone else welcomed him back.

Nightwing explained the situation, the explosion, Pariah, the evolved and Dana.

Batman and the rest of the team all looked shocked. Batman scowled and mulled over the new information.

Pariah was in fact another of Gentek experiment with an agenda and this time he has Amaya Heller and Dana Mercer with him. What puzzled the dark knight was the reasoning of keeping Dana and Amaya alive. He decided to think about it later.

Batman said grimly "That's the least of our problems at the moment" "It is?" said Blue Beetle, surprised.

Batman nodded "The reason why I called you all back here is the recent announcement G. Gordon Godfrey made earlier this evening"

"What is it?" asked Miss Martian

"He announced that he has shocking information on us" answered Bumble Bee.

Everyone frowned in confusion at that "What kind of information?" asked Superboy

"His exact words were, _information that could end the justice league_" said Martian Manhunter.

Lagoon boy snorted, "All he does is spout lies and twist current events to make it seem like we're to blame"

"Considering the recent events, I believe that this might be different" said Batman.

Black Canary rushed into the conference room saying, "It's started!" everyone followed Black Canary out of the room and into the makeshift operations center where they saw G. Gordon Godfrey on the largest computer screen in the room.

The anchorman stared directly into the camera and he spoke clearly "_Good evening everybody, I'm G. Gordon Godfrey. Earlier this evening I planned on discussing the current crisis that is happening in New York but I decided to postpone that till next time." _

The blond man's face turned grim "_Tonight, however, I will be dispelling the lies that the Justice League had told this nation."_

"This doesn't sound good" muttered Superboy. Godfrey cleared his throat and he resumed "_Earlier this evening before I was about to start my show, an envelope arrived at my desk. Inside was some shocking evidence that pertain to the first outbreak"_ an eerie silence befell the entire operations room.

The Justice League and the Team were silently listening to Godfrey.

Godfrey scowled "_For starters, did you know that Alex Mercer, the supposed monster responsible for the outbreak, was in fact an innocent victim like the rest of those who died" _there were a few audible gasps of shock that came from audience members in the studio.

Godfrey nodded "_I know what you're thinking, that I'm crazy or that I'm lying. But I am not. I have hard evidence here that he was just a pawn, used by outside forces to destroy us" _he nodded at the camera man and the screen cut to a black and white video clip of the inside of Penn station. The camera zoomed in on a single hooded figure weaving through a small crowd while several BlackWatch soldiers rushing to catch up. The figure was obviously Alex.

He stopped and he turned to face the soldiers. The soldiers were standing there and said something but there wasn't any audio. Suddenly, one of the soldiers raised his weapon to Alex and shot him square in the chest. Alex fell and panic broke out in the crowded station.

Suddenly the image froze and it zoomed to a single figure that was standing several feet away. The figure was standing perfectly still and was at tall black blur.

Godfrey's voice spoke "_See! That figure was the Martian Manhunter!" _"What!?" exclaimed Miss Martian in disbelief.

Godfrey continued, "_The Martian was lying in wait for young Alex and his military escort"_ the camera cut back to Godfrey, who had his arms crossed and a look of sadness on his face "_Here is another little known fact; Alex Mercer was a prodigy in the field of biology and medical science. He was under the employ of Raymond McMullen, CEO of Gentek. In this footage, he was on his way to deliver a deadly virus to a Gentek facility that was out of state so it may be studied. Along the way, he was escorted by some of BlackWatch's finest soldiers. Gentek would've used a traditional currier or a shipping service to transport the virus but unknown assailants constantly attacked their shipments. So Raymond McMullen decided to use a usual method. Use one of his employees to smuggle it out through public, since no one would be crazy enough to attack a young man carrying a deadly virus in public and in broad daylight while being escorted by armed soldiers" _

Godfrey shook his head and sighed "_But it all went up in smoke when the Martian showed up and used his powers to take control of one of the soldiers, who then attacked poor Alex Mercer". _

Everyone was silent for a moment and they let the information sink in. Godfrey quirked an eyebrow "_You still don't believe me? Well here's another hard piece of evidence" _he nodded at the cameraman again and this time, the screen cut to a video clip of what looked like a morgue.

Two doctors in HAZMAT suits were unzipping a body bag on the table, revealing Alex's corpse. The footage froze and Godfrey spoke "_From the anonymous tip and some inside sources from Gentek, the virus Mercer was carrying was a deadly mutated strain of an old biological weapon Gentek was trying to dispose of as requested by the government. My sources told me that young Alex gained his abilities through the virus somehow. But with those powers, the virus drove him to madness and he slaughter his former co-workers"._

The image flickered and there was some static. After a moment, the static cleared, revealing one of the doctor's lying dead on the floor, the other was missing and Alex's corpse was gone. The crowd gasped in horror.

Godfrey's face reappeared on the screen and this time he had a look of outrage "_I'm sure you're wondering who could be behind all this? Well, believe it or not, it was the Justice League!" _the crowd murmured and began chattering in panic.

Godfrey held up a hand and the crowd in the studio went quiet. The anchorman continued, "_I know it seems far fetched but believe me, I was just as shocked as you are" _

"Yeah right" snorted Bumble Bee.

Godfrey held up a hand "_Here is undeniable proof that the Justice League was behind the previous outbreak and maybe even this one!" _a photo appeared on the screen.

It was a picture of Miss Martian, Nightwing in a BlackWatch uniform standing in an alleyway, receiving a thumb drive from a shadowy silhouette.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock "How did he get that?" exclaimed Miss Martian

"I don't know" said Nightwing.

The audience's reaction was similar. There were a few gasps, a few muttering, even a cry of outrage.

Godfrey reappeared on the screen "_This photo was taken quite recently. In this photo are the young protégés of Batman and Martian Manhunter, one of which is dressed in a stolen uniform, receiving what looks like stolen government secrets!"_ the crowd's chattering grew louder and louder.

Godfrey continued, "_You see! This is proof that these vigilantes have caused one of the biggest disasters in the history of humankind. They have stolen secrets from our government, duly appointed officials who have publicly supported them, and they have pinned the deaths of thousands upon an innocent young man who was driven to madness by a lethal virus. Who knows what else they have done?"_

Godfrey scowled "_Are these the heroes type of heroes you want?" "NO!" _roared the crowd.

As the Godfrey continued his tirade, Beast Boy frowned and he looked towards a window. He slipped through the crowded operations center and he looked out the window. What he saw made him turn a lighter shade of green.

Beast Boy glanced back "Guy's" "Not now" whispered Miss Martian.

The green shape shifter repeated, only louder "Guys!" everyone looked at Beast boy.

He motioned them over. Everyone on the team went to the window and saw what Beast Boy saw. Outside, several tanks rolled down the street followed by a number of armored troop carriers and helicopters. It was a mixture of regular army and BlackWatch. Quickly, the tanks and trucks formed a perimeter around the building and troops began pouring out of the troop carriers.

The soldiers all took positions around the building and the tanks leveled their guns at the building.

Nobody said anything. After a few moments of silence, Superboy grunted, "Can't see how this could get any worse".

* * *

In the Red Zone, Pariah carefully placed Dana up against a wall. Pariah had been trying to get to the rendezvous point all the while carefully carrying an unconscious Dana in his arms. He didn't want to awake her and alert her to the fact that she lost her legs.

Dana moaned in pain a few times but she didn't awake. Pariah was close but he needed to take a moment to catch his breath so he decided that he should stop and rest in the ruins of an old bookstore.

Pariah made a small makeshift seat to sit on with a knocked over bookcase.

As he tried to rest up, Dana slowly awoke. Pariah silently cursed. She awoke slowly and she looked around at her surroundings. Dana tried to move but she winced in pain and she looked down at her legs.

The young woman stared at her destroyed limbs silently for a moment then tears came to her eyes.

Dana began to weep. Pariah appeared at her side and placed a comforting arm around her "It's ok, it's ok" he soothed but she just shook her head.

Dana sniffed and suddenly, she began laughing hysterically. Pariah frowned in confusion and asked her why she was laughing.

Dana wiped away her tears and said shakily "J-just another day in my shitty life. I thought my life couldn't get any worse. My brother's dead, I'm hated by everyone because of what my brother didn't do. I lived in a shit hole apartment in the bad part of Vegas working at a stingy old casino. Now I'm here, in the middle of another outbreak with both my legs gone".

Pariah nodded "That's rough".

Dana sniffed and rubbed her eyes "This sucks"

"What does?" asked Pariah

"Everything!" answered Dana, coldly "This city, this country, this entire planet! Constant pain and never ending crap being thrown in my direction"

Dana's eyes narrowed and she muttered venomously "If it wasn't for BlackWatch and Gentek, Alex would be alive. If it weren't for the Justice League, I wouldn't have lived in the gutters those past several years, clawing a meager existence out from nothing. I want them to pay. I want them all to pay!"

Pariah looked at her in surprise.

Dana sighed dejectedly "To bad I can't. I'm too weak" "No you're not" said Pariah, placing a hand on hers.

Dana looked up and smiled meekly "Thank you".

He reached into his pocket to retrieve a handkerchief and but he felt something in his pocket.

Pariah blinked and he withdrew a small bottle filled with a clear liquid. On it was inscribed was a single word, Monarch.

Pariah's eyes widened in surprise at the bottle. He had forgotten he had it.

Dana noticed the look of surprise on his face and she asked Pariah "What is it?"

Pariah glanced at her and grinned broadly "How would you like to have your wildest dreams come true?"

End of chapter

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**(a/n: What do you think? Please review!)**


	9. Ch 9: Metamorphoses

**(a/n: Enjoy and Review!)**

* * *

Ch.9: Metamorphosis

The soldiers and tanks aimed their weapons at the Justice League's temporary HQ.

Helicopters shone spotlights down on the building, so that no one could slip out of the building unnoticed.

Nightwing scanned the large gathering of soldiers and vehicles till he spotted a single figure "Colonel Rooks?" said Nightwing in surprise. The BlackWatch commander stood among the troops, glaring up at the building with a woman dressed in business attire standing beside him.

Colonel Rooks pulled out a megaphone and boomed "_By the authority vested in me, I hereby place you under arrest for espionage and treason against the United States. Come out with your hands up!" _

"This is insane!" cried Beast Boy "We didn't do anything"

"They don't know that" said Miss Martian.

Superboy scowled down at the tanks and heavily armed troops "What do we do?"

"Black Canary, myself and Martian Manhunter will stay and fight them off, while you flee" said Batman.

The Team all looked at Batman in surprise but he and Black Canary gave them a look that told them not to argue. Kaldur spoke up "Where will we go?"

"I know just the place" said Heller.

* * *

Down below, Colonel Rooks stared at the building for a few silent moments then he turned to Sabrina Galloway saying, "Ok, you win. Deploy project Orion"

Sabrina smiled "Glad you could see it my way".

She glanced back at the armored truck behind her and nodded. A pair of technicians rushed to the rear of the truck and disengaged a series of complex locks.

When the last lock clicked open, the technicians opened the heavy, metal doors.

Sabrina stepped behind the truck and she stared inside at the passengers, saying sternly "Neutralize the targets and bring me the senior Leaguers" a mischievous smile appeared on her face "Oh and have as much fun as you want boys, go nuts".

Sabrina stepped aside and several large, muscular men in BlackWatch uniforms jumped out of the trucks.

The Super Soldiers turned towards the League's temporary HQ. The leader of the super soldier squad stepped forward and eyed the building. He looked back at his companions and barked, "Lets go!" without hesitation they swarmed the building.

* * *

The Team hastily hurried for the Bioship on the roof. As they were making their way to the roof, Miss Martian and Nightwing heard a loud boom and some shouts.

The two glanced back toward the noise and saw Batman being thrown like a ragdoll out of the Ops center.

Black Canary appeared beside him and checked his vitals. She noticed the two and she screamed, "Run!" a large pair of hands grabbed Black Canary and pulled her into the Ops center.

Miss Martian moved to help but Nightwing stopped her. They heard some punches and grunts followed by Black Canary's canary cry then, suddenly, silence.

Nightwing and Miss Martian waited in silence for a moment. Finally, they saw a figure walk out of the Ops center carrying an unconscious Black Canary on his shoulders.

He placed her beside the unconscious Batman and he scanned the hallway. The figure noticed Miss Martian and Nightwing.

Miss Martian and Nightwing stared in horror at the figure who was leading the attack. Standing there beside the unconscious Batman and Black Canary was Samuel Caldwell.

His expression was grim and serious. He wore a black and grey BlackWatch uniform. The super soldier stared at Nightwing and Miss Martian.

Miss Martian spoke hesitantly "S-Samuel?" The super soldier didn't respond.

Instead, he pointed a finger at the two and said two words "Seize them".

A number of other similarly dressed men emerged from the Ops center and they charged the two.

Nightwing and Miss Martian fled. They hurried down the corridor and up the stairs to the roof.

The super soldiers were quickly gaining on them but suddenly an invisible force knocked them back down the stairs.

Miss Martian looked up and saw Martian Manhunter at the top of the stairs, waiting for them "Hurry, there's not much time" urged the Martian.

Nightwing and Miss Martian reached the top of the stairs then climbed up on to the roof.

As they ran to the Bioship, the helicopters fired upon them. The two did their best to evade the bullets and they managed to get aboard the ship.

Colonel Rooks gritted his teeth then barked to his soldiers "Move in! Take them down!" the soldiers obeyed.

Squads of BlackWatch troops and Marines charged into the base.

The Colonel and Sabrina felt a powerful gust of wind coming from the roof.

The gust blew through them and it immediately dissipated, indicating that the cloaked bioship flew right over them.

Rooks sighed in annoyance "They got away" "Not all of them" observed Sabrina.

The two saw Caldwell and his squad of super soldiers drag unconscious Batman, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter out of the building. Black Canary and Martian Manhunter had high tech collars on their necks, while Batman was bound head to toe in chains and ropes.

Sabrina patted Caldwell on the shoulder "Good work, now be a good boy and toss them in the containment unit" the super soldier nodded.

Caldwell and his men dragged the unconscious Leaguers towards a nearby truck.

Colonel Rooks stared at Caldwell "I have to ask, how did you get him to return?"

Sabrina smiled knowingly and said, "A girl has her ways".

* * *

In an abandoned building at the edge of the Red Zone, Pariah carefully extracted a syringe full of the liquid in the Monarch bottle.

Pariah carried Dana to the edge of the Red Zone where he knew there were a few old ambulances.

He searched through the wreckage and found an unused syringe. He rolled up Dana's sleeve and he paused.

Pariah looked Dana in the eye and asked "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Dana nodded silently.

He pressed on "I'm serious, once we go through with this there will be no going back". Dana looked Pariah in the eye and said firmly "I'm sure".

To his surprise, Dana's expression was cold and serious. Pariah took a deep breath and said, "Ok, here we go".

Pariah drove the needle into Dana's skin till it pierced her blood vein. He then pushed down on the plunger and the liquid quickly entered her vein. Once the liquid was gone, Pariah withdrew the needle and he looked up at Dana.

She sat there looking rather calm. Dana asked him "When does it take effect?"

"Soon" said Pariah, feeling rather unsure. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if the Monarch virus would work. It was a very unstable strain of the White Light virus that he created. In the lab tests, it showed that it strengthened and enhanced the test subjects but eventually it drove them into a violent, insane fit that lasted until Pariah stopped them.

Pariah held his breath and prayed that it would work.

Dana sat there looking rather calm but suddenly she moaned and shook. Her body thrashed about in spasms of pain. Pariah felt his heart skip a beat. He wasn't sure about the effects of the virus because they varied from person to person.

If he was equipped, Pariah could give her some painkillers but he had no medication on his person.

The ambulance he searched was stripped clean of medicine.

Quickly, he glanced around hoping to find a solution. Finally, he got an idea. Pariah stared at the high, metal and concrete wall that separated Red Zone from Yellow Zone. It was crazy but it might work. They were poor, but people in the Yellow Zone had medication.

Pariah scooped up Dana said soothingly "Don't worry, the pain will pass" he than muttered, "I hope".

Pariah took off running for the wall. Using all his might, Pariah launched himself and Dana over the wall. They sailed over the barbwire easily and landed without any trouble.

Pariah looked around and saw that he landed in the middle of a very dirty street. A few yards away was a small homeless encampment where a few men stood around a small flickering fire.

Pariah jogged over to them and begged, "Please, I need medicine!"

the men looked to Pariah and saw Dana. She moaned in pain and they noticed her missing legs. One of the men muttered "Oh God…"

"We like to help but we don't have medicine," said another.

A third man spoke up "I know a guy who might have something you need" "Who?" asked Pariah, desperately.

* * *

Father Guerra struck a match. The small, orange flame faintly illuminated the dark church. He lit a few candles till the match went out. The priest struck another match and continued a few more candles.

Once that match went out, Father Guerra stopped and he knelt down.

Scattered about the chapel were at least a few dozen candles. The priest felt that the chapel was a little gloomy at that time of night. So he decided to light some candles to improve the mood of the building.

Father Guerra crossed himself and muttered a prayer in Latin.

Halfway through the prayer, he heard the doors of the church burst open and a cool breeze blew into the building. The candles flickered and a few went out.

Father Guerra opened his eyes and glanced towards the door. He felt his blood run cold.

Standing there was a young man dressed in a tattered grey hoodie and in his arms was a dark haired young woman. She looked like she was in agony.

Father Guerra got to his feet and he rushed over to them. The priest looked down at the girl and asked, "What happened?"

"I-I don't know, it all happened so fast" explained the young man shakily "I heard that you could help"

"I'll do what I can" said the priest.

* * *

Father Guerra led the young man down to the basement. The young man placed the wounded girl on one of the cots.

Father Guerra quickly retrieved his first aid kit and he tended to the girl. He gave the girl some super strength painkillers and he bandaged the bloody stumps of where her legs were.

The girl was extremely pale from blood loss. She shivered and mumbled something under her breath.

Father Guerra placed a blanket over the girl said soothingly "It's ok my child, you're safe".

He glanced at the young man in the hoodie who watched anxiously. Father Guerra stood and he wiped away the blood on his hands with a rag "That should do it"

"Will she be ok?" asked the young man.

The priest sighed deeply "I'm not sure. She has lost much blood and I'm not entirely sure what is wrong with her" he glanced back at the girl saying "I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see".

The young man nodded slowly and he said sincerely "Thank you, Father"

Father Guerra smiled "No problem".

* * *

Heller flicked the light switch and the fluorescent lights flickered on, revealing a spacious gymnasium filled with dusty exercise machines.

Heller inhaled deeply and sighed, "Just how I remembered it" he glanced to Nightwing "Its not much but I hope its enough"

"It is" said Nightwing.

Miss Martian looked around the gym and asked "Are you sure we'll be safe?"

"Yeah" answered Heller "A buddy of mine owns this place. Its quiet and out of the way. Who would expect this would be a headquarters for an ex-marine and a bunch of Metahumans"

"Why couldn't we go to Father Guerra?" asked Blue Beetle as he inspected a dusty treadmill

"We can't risk his safety" answered Nightwing "If we were followed there, BlackWatch would punish him for assisting us".

The other members of the Team found places in the old gym and started laying out sleeping bags for the night.

Beast Boy looked a little uneasy. Blue Beetle asked him "What's wrong?" "I'm worried about Batman and the others" said Beast Boy

"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine" said Batgirl as she laid out her sleeping bag.

On the other side of the room, Nightwing and Miss Martian where talking with Kaldur, Superboy and Heller about Caldwell.

At first they didn't want to believe it but Miss Martian showed them her memory. Kaldur frowned "Why would he work for BlackWatch?"

"He wouldn't" said Heller "Not of his own free will".

The four looked at the former sergeant and he explained "Caldwell was kidnapped by BlackWatch when he was a child. They turned him into their first and only super soldier. After he faked his death in the first outbreak, he left BlackWatch. For years, they had been trying to make more super soldiers but they all failed. From the infor I found on the BlackWatch computers was that they could only make more if they had Caldwell"

"Why?" asked Miss Martian

"His genetics contained the blueprints of the serum. If they had him, than they could properly recreate the formula" said Heller.

Nightwing scowled "But how did they get him?" "They probably jumped him while he was out on patrol" guessed Heller "Rumor is that Gentek and BlackWatch have ways of making people work for them"

"Mind control?" said Superboy.

Heller shrugged "Maybe. its all just rumors and secrets with them, its hard to tell".

Nightwing sighed and muttered, "This is just not our night, is it?" "Nope" said Heller.

* * *

In the basement of the church, Dana's body slowly and quietly repaired itself. Her legs were no longer stumps.

They were slowly sprouting replacements. So far, she regrew a few inches of bone, muscle and blood veins.

The color in Dana's face began to drain away. Her breath became erratic and her heartbeat began to hammer away in her chest.

Dana winced and her face twisted in pain. Her head started to throb and ache. Voices and sounds filled her ears. At first they were few and soft, then suddenly they flooded her mind.

Dana tossed and turned, till finally the pain, the voices and the sounds began to subside.

Slowly, her eyelids flickered open revealing a pair of eyes that had golden irises.

* * *

Miles away, Alex's eyes flew open and he gripped the arm of his chair tightly.

Elizabeth glanced at him and placed a hand on his "What's wrong?" she asked.

Alex shook his head "I-I don't know. I just got this weird feeling all of a sudden". Elizabeth sensed that Alex was restless.

She wanted to do something but she couldn't. All she could do was try and calm him down.

After all, it would be unfortunate if Alex lost control on board a crowded commercial airliner. Luckily, a stewardess showed up and offered them an inflight meal.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: What do you think? I hoped you enjoyed it. Please review!)**


	10. Ch 10: Wrath & Scorn

**(a/n: Wow, a new chapter already? Enjoy and review!)**

* * *

Ch.10: Wrath & Scorn

Dana awoke to silence. She blinked a few times till everything came into focus.

Above her was a grey ceiling that had pipes and wires exposed to her. A cold grey light spilled into the room she was in.

Dana shivered a little, pulling her blanket closer to her. She lifted her head and saw that she was in a basement of sorts.

The walls were lined with stacks of books and boxes. One wall was covered completely with newspaper clippings and photos. Dana frowned in confusion as to where she was.

She remembered Pariah injecting her with Monarch but the rest was a blur of agony.

A kind voice spoke "Ah, you're awake"

Dana looked towards the stairs and saw a middle aged man standing there. He was dressed in a priests clothing with a jacket over the top.

The priest smiled a little "Glad to see that you're awake, you worried me for a moment"

"Who are you?" asked Dana "Where am I?"

"I'm Father Guerra and this is my church" explained the man "I am also the man who treated your wounds".

The priest pulled up a chair and sat down beside Dana's bed. He stared at Dana for a moment then asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Better" said Dana "Thanks"

"No problem" said Father Guerra waving a hand "Anything for someone in need".

Dana felt a smile tug at her lips. Something about the priest made her feel safe. Father Guerra scratched his chin "I must say, it is strange to see you around here, Dana Mercer" Dana blinked in surprise.

She felt a little panicked, thinking that the priest was a BlackWatch spy.

Father Guerra noticed the look of worry on her face and said "I knew who you were from the news" "Please…I don't want trouble" stammered Dana.

The priest held up a hand and said calmly "Don't worry my child, I mean you no harm."

Dana eyed him suspiciously and saw that the priest wasn't lying. She relaxed a little.

Father Guerra smiled "How about some breakfast?"

Dana's expression brightened "Yes, please, I'm starving".

* * *

Pariah stood on the street corner in the Yellow Zone, watching BlackWatch patrols march through the streets.

He left Dana in the care of Father Guerra. Pariah sensed that the priest was a good man who would not harm her.

Pariah was a little worried about Dana but at the moment, he was trying to get his bearings on what is going on. He felt something tap his shoulder.

Pariah turned and he saw Sabrina, dressed in tattered, dirty clothes. Her face was covered in dirt and grime, making her look like she had been swimming through garbage but Pariah still recognized her.

She grinned, "Miss me?"

"Where have you been?" demanded Pariah.

Sabrina shrugged "I've been busy, doing the job you gave me." "What's the situation?" asked Pariah.

Sabrina chuckled a little "You're going to love this" she then recounted the previous evenings events. Public opinion of the Justice League had plummeted to an all time low. The army, navy and air force were on high alert. BlackWatch had doubled its security and initiated Project Orion, headed by a brainwashed Caldwell. The media all around the world were in a frenzy over Godfrey's story.

So far, Godfrey's report was being replayed all over the Internet and the world. Some media outlets were even digging up information on Alex Mercer and putting him in a more positive light.

Pariah couldn't help but grin. Everything was back on track.

Sabrina put her hands in her pockets "So…how's the girl?"

Pariah briefly explained what happened after the explosion and Sabrina winced a little "Ouch, good thing you had Monarch on you"

"Yes" said Pariah "By now, I believe she is now one of us. But there is a flaw"

"Flaw?" asked Sabrina.

Pariah nodded "The flaw is that Monarch needs something to make powers manifest. Some adrenaline, some stress".

Sabrina frowned "How are you going to do that?"

Pariah shrugged "I have no idea". The two pondered on what to do when suddenly, Sabrina got an idea. She told Pariah of the idea and he nodded "That sounds logical. It should do the trick"

"Of course it will" said Sabrina "Its how my powers manifested"

Pariah nodded, remembering the memory clearly in his mind. Pariah glanced around them and whispered to her "Do it discreetly, the Junior Justice League is still out there. I don't want any screw ups"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it personally" said Sabrina, smiling mischievously.

* * *

At the abandoned gym, the Team was busy trying to get organized. BlackWatch captured batman, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter, which was on the national news.

The remainder of the Justice League was busy with damage control, trying to keep public support.

Godfrey's editorial damaged the League's public relations.

At that moment, Captain Atom, the Flash and Green Arrow where having a press conference with the United States' Government because of the accusation of stealing government secrets.

The government was on the verge of arresting the entire league but some quick thinking on Icon's part, the league was still allowed to help contain the outbreak but they were forced to be under constant watch by the Army.

As the Team watched the proceedings, the newscaster showed footage of the attack on the League's temporary HQ.

Nightwing noticed the woman standing by Colonel Rooks. She seemed very familiar. He quickly ran a search to find out more about her and he found a lot.

Nightwing gathered Heller, Miss Martian, Kaldur and Superboy together and he shared his findings.

Nightwing spoke "In order for us to get the public and the military on our side, we have to get the truth out to the public"

"Ok, so what's the plan?" asked Superboy.

Nightwing pulled up an image of the woman from the night of the attack "This is Sabrina Galloway, President and CFO of Gentek. She's the key"

"How?" asked Miss Martian.

Nightwing explained, "Sabrina Galloway is Colonel Rooks closest advisor and she is in charge of all Gentek's projects that are currently active"

"Including the super soldier project" said Heller.

Nightwing nodded "Right. She is also in charge of intelligence, which means she has eyes and ears all over the city. If we want the public to trust us again, we got to get to Galloway and get her to tell us where Godfrey got his information"

"Sounds good" said Heller "But where do we start?"

"She has an office set up at BlackWatch HQ, we'll start there" said Nightwing.

Everyone stared at him shock. Heller said dryly "Well this is going to be fun".

* * *

Father Guerra handed Dana the bowl of cereal "Here you go, eat up"

"Thanks" she said, accepting the bowl. The priest sat down in the chair by the bed with his own bowl of cereal. Dana and Father Guerra ate in silence.

As she ate, Dana noticed a tattoo on the priest's wrist.

Father Guerra saw that she was staring and asked, "What is it?" "I don't think I've met a priest with a tattoo" said Dana.

The priest blinked and he looked down at his wrist "Oh, this old thing. I got it long ago" "Really?" said Dana in surprise.

Father Guerra nodded "Yeah. You could say that I was a hell raiser back in the day"

Dana imagined the priest getting tattoos and she chuckled a little.

Father Guerra smiled a little and laughed a little then said "I never really thought that I would end up a priest" "Really?" asked Dana.

The priest nodded "My mama and papa wanted me to be one but I wasn't really into it. Until one day, I got into some seriously messed up stuff and it was there that I decided to ditch my old life and clean up my act".

Dana listened to the priest with interest. She asked, "What made you into a hell raiser?"

"You could say that I was in a rough place at home and at school" said Father Guerra cryptically "I also got mixed up with the wrong crowd and I did some things I regret" he glanced at Dana "I think you might have an idea".

Dana sighed deeply and nodded "I do". It wasn't really easy being the sibling of the most hated person in the world. People would attack her, verbally and physically. She couldn't get a high paying job because people were afraid that she might be unstable. There were times where she would see her name getting smeared by the media.

After a moment of silence, Father Guerra spoke "I don't believe you're as bad as some would claim"

Dana looked up at the priest "Really?" he nodded "You seem like a good person. Don't let anyone say any different"

Dana smiled "Thanks".

The two continued discussing things as they ate. They passed the time telling stories from their lives. Father Guerra was unsurprised when Dana mentioned that Alex was innocent. He told her that he knew that Alex was innocent. The priest explained that he and some of his friends were in a resistance movement that fought Gentek when the second outbreak happened but they were now disbanded.

Before they broke up, the resistance stole information from Gentek and BlackWatch computers. Eventually Father Guerra discovered that Alex was innocent. He tried to get it to the media but he was blocked at every turn.

Dana was surprised and asked if he still had the information. The priest nodded and she asked if she could take it with her and give it to the media. Father Guerra agreed.

Dana felt her spirits lift. Things seemed to be going her way.

As the minutes rolled into hours, Dana and Father Guerra began telling each other jokes. When Father Guerra was in the middle of telling one, he paused and he looked up at the ceiling.

Dana looked up as well and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know" said the priest.

He got to his feet "stay here, I'll be back". Father Guerra hurried up the stairs, leaving Dana alone in the basement.

She waited in silence for a few tense moments. Dana heard faint voices and footsteps. She strained to hear what they were saying and to her surprise, she heard the voices very clearly.

The first was Father Guerra "_Can I help you gentlemen?" "We're looking for this girl, have you seen her?" _asked a voice.

The voice was male and Dana didn't recognize it. She heard several sets of footsteps marching around.

There was silence for a few moments, till Father Guerra said, "_I'm sorry but I don't believe I have seen this girl" _"_Look harder"_ urged the stranger "_She's very dangerous and anyone caught helping her will be severely punished"_

Father Guerra sighed and said firmly "_I have not seen her. Now, get out of my church" _"_Search the building" _barked the stranger to somebody.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and a scream. There were some shouts and Father Guerra growled, "_Like I said, Get. Out. Of my church" _

_"Put it down sir" _ordered another voice "_I said put it down!" _there was another loud bang, followed by a series of gunshots.

Dana's heart began to pound away in her chest. The door opened and Father Guerra burst inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it, then placed a thick wooden board across it effectively barricading it.

The priest hurried down the stairs and Dana saw that he was holding a shotgun and his clothes were covered in spatters of blood.

Dana asked in concern "What happened? What's going on?" "BlackWatch" said Father Guerra as sweat dripped down his face "They're looking for you"

"Me?" said Dana in horror "Why?"

The priest shrugged "I don't know and I don't care. I'm not going to let them take you, I'm through with letting them get away with murder." He loaded a few more rounds into his weapon and cocked it.

There was a loud thud and the two looked towards the door. A few voices were shouting something and were slamming against the door.

Father Guerra glanced back at Dana "We don't have much time, we have to go". Dana threw her blanket off of her and she gasped. The priest looked back and he gasped as well.

Instead of finding a pair of bloody stumps, they saw that Dana's legs had miraculously returned.

Dana wriggled her toes and moved her feet a little. She looked at the priest trying to find an explanation but she couldn't. Father Guerra was just as perplexed as she was.

The priest breathed "It's a miracle"

"You said it" said Dana in amazement.

Another loud slam against the door interrupted their thoughts. Father Guerra helped Dana out of bed and he led her to the other side of the basement. He kicked aside some piles of boxes and books. The priest tore down the newspaper clippings and photos till he found an old wooden door. Father Guerra pulled a key out of his pocket and he unlocked the door.

The door sung open, revealing a hidden room "Get in and don't come out until I say so" said the priest.

Dana looked at the priest "What about you?" Father Guerra didn't answer.

Dana's eyes widened in realization "No, you can't" "There's no time to argue" said Father Guerra. He pushed her inside and he closed the door behind her.

* * *

Quickly, Father Guerra covered up the door with his desk, stacks of books and boxes.

Suddenly he heard the door to the basement give way and he heard boots stomping down the stairs.

Father Guerra took a deep breath and muttered a prayer for himself and Dana. The priest leveled his weapon towards the stairs and he began reciting passages of the Bible.

Once the first BlackWatch soldier came into his line of sight, Father Guerra growled, "Come get some you bastards" and he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Dana waited in the small, hidden room and listened to loud bangs from Father Guerra's shotgun and screams of BlackWatch's soldiers.

She her gut twist into a knot. Father Guerra was facing off against the soldiers alone, all to protect her. Dana wanted to do something but she couldn't.

What could she do against armed soldiers?

Suddenly she heard Father Guerra shout something that sounded like an insult at the soldiers and there were some machine gun fire followed by a thud and everything went eerily quiet.

Dana waited intently and she heard some voices. None of which were Father Guerra.

She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Without thinking, she opened the door effortlessly pushing aside the mountain of books and boxes that blocked it aside.

The basement was in ruins. Everything was shredded by bullets and had large bullet holes in them. Several soldiers lay dead but there were at least twice the number of soldiers left standing.

The BlackWatch soldiers saw her and aimed their weapons at her, telling her to freeze.

She didn't listen. Dana saw Father Guerra on the floor. His body was riddled with bullet holes and blood flowed freely. She dropped to her knees and felt tears running down her face.

Even though she knew him for only a day, Dana was distraught.

Father Guerra was the one of the few people in the world who was kind to her. He believed her to be a good person and he believed that Alex was innocent. The priest even gave his life to drive away the BlackWatch soldiers. Now he was dead.

The leader of the soldiers ordered Dana to get up but she looked up at him coldly.

It was their fault. It was always their fault. BlackWatch, Gentek, Humanity, they were all to blame.

Everything she had, everyone she cared about, they all get taken away and she's always left with nothing.

Dana's eyes turned gold and suddenly everything went red.

* * *

Dana stood in the middle of the basement trembling. Her hands were soaked in blood and she looked down at what she had done.

At her feet were the bodies of the BlackWatch soldiers. Every one of them was torn to shreds.

Blood covered almost every inch of the basement.

Dana didn't know how it happened. She was grieving Father Guerra's death one moment and the next, she was tearing into the soldiers like they were nothing.

They begged, they screamed and cried, trying to get her to stop. But she didn't.

Dana was horrified and strangely, she was glad she did it. They deserved it, they all did.

She looked down at the fallen priest. Dana whispered "I'm sorry" she turned and she took off running up the stairs.

Dana ran barefoot through the chapel, towards the front doors. She had to get as far away as she could before more soldiers show up.

Dana bolted out of the church then across the street and she jumped over a fence in a single bound.

* * *

On the roof the church, Sabrina watched as the new Dana ran.

Sabrina nodded in approval muttering to no one, "Welcome to the family, Dana".

End of chapter.

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**(a/n: What do you think? Please review!)**


	11. Ch 11: True Lies

**(a/n: i hope you enjoy this. Please review!)**

* * *

Ch.11: True Lies

Sabrina Galloway strode down the hall towards her office.

After she had given Dana the final push into becoming an Evolved, Sabrina made her way back to the Green Zone to keep an eye on BlackWatch's progress with the outbreak and other issues that were on piling up on her plate.

She reached her temporary office and unlocked the door.

Sabrina entered the small office and she went to her desk. She sat down in the swivel chair and she spun around to look outside. Sabrina's office was high up and it gave her a commanding view of the city. In the distance, she saw smoke rise from the Red Zone.

Sabrina frowned a little. She had sensed her guests ever since she stepped inside of the building, she might as well deal with them now.

Sabrina sighed, "You can come out, I know you're there".

For a few moments there was silence, then she heard footsteps.

Sabrina swivled around and she found herself staring at Nightwing, Miss Martian and James Heller.

Sabrina's arched an eyebrow "What do you want?" "Where did Godfrey get his information?" demanded Nightwing.

The CFO frowned a little "What?" "Where did Godfrey get his information?" repeated Nightwing.

Sabrina shrugged "I don't know" "you're the President of Gentek, what he said on the news is classified and it would damage your company" said Heller.

Sabrina rolled her eyes "Please, all that is old news. That had everything to do with that idiot McMullen, not me" Miss Martian scowled at the businesswoman and her eyes glowed threateningly.

Sabrina interlocked her fingers and she looked at the three in annoyance "Anything else?"

"Where are you holding Batman, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter?" demanded Miss Martian.

Sabrina waved a hand "I wouldn't worry about them, they're being cared for" "Cared for?" said Nightwing, suspiciously.

Sabrina smiled mischievously "Yes. At this very moment, they're being re-educated and re-trained. They'll make fine additions to Project Orion, don't you think?"

Miss Martian clenched her fist and fought the urge to lash out at the woman. Sabrina chuckled "I'm only joking, lighten up".

Heller scowled and his arm shifted to its claw form. He placed a claw at Sabrina's throat growling "You got five seconds to cough up the info, or else".

Sabrina glanced at Heller's claws than to Heller.

Heller's eyes bore into Sabrina's like drills. She frowned a little and she sighed deeply "Fine, no need to twist my arm".

Sabrina looked to Nightwing and Miss Martian saying sincerely "I honestly have no clue as to how Godfrey got that information. We've been having security problems lately, some Mercer wannabe has been attacking my men and swiping information from my computers, maybe that's how he got the info"

"Mercer wannabe?" said Nightwing raising an eyebrow.

Sabrina nodded "Yeah. Wears a hood, has weird powers and hacks people to pieces. That asshole has been screwing up my operation for weeks"

"Who is he?" asked Miss Martian. The CFO shrugged "Hell if I know".

Heller stared at her for a moment than said, "Why should we trust you? You're Gentek, you lie, murder and steal to achieve your goals. For all we know, you might be lying to us now"

"I'm not," said Sabrina firmly. She looked to Miss Martian "Go ahead, see for yourself".

Miss Martian's eyes glowed and she searched through Sabrina's mind. Interestingly enough, she found that Sabrina was telling the truth. Miss Martian felt that Sabrina hiding some thoughts and memories but Sabrina forced her away from them saying coldly "Those are private"

Miss Martian withdrew from her mind. Sabrina crossed her arms "Anything else?"

"No, you told us enough" said Nightwing.

Sabrina nodded "Good, now get the hell out before I call security" she swiveled around with her back to them.

She suddenly remembered something "Oh, before you go I want you to know that I had absolutely nothing to do with that priest" "Priest?" said Heller

"Yes, a priest. What was his name again?" said Sabrina, tapping her lip as a smile formed. She snapped her fingers "That's right, Guerra"

Before she could blink, Sabrina was spun around and she found herself staring into the eyes of a very angry Heller "What did you do to him?" growled Heller.

Sabrina shrugged "Nothing. I heard Rooks talking about him with Riley, something about apprehending any known associates of yourself and the League that may be undermining the Colonel's authority"

Heller glared daggers into Sabrina, who sat there calm and collected. Heller jabbed a finger at her throat "You better not be lying, because if you had anything to do with him, there will be nothing on earth that can protect you from me"

Sabrina just stared at him and nodded "Fair enough".

Heller, Nightwing and Miss Martian left Sabrina's office. She wasn't going to tell Heller about Father Guerra but he was going to find out sooner or later. Sabrina was only covering her bases and tried to keep herself out of the firing line until the time was right.

* * *

Dana ducked behind a dumpster in an abandoned alleyway in the furthest corner of the Yellow Zone.

She plopped down on the cold hard ground with her heart pounding away in her chest.

After the attack at Father Guerra's church, Dana ran as far and fast as she could. She raced through the Yellow Zone faster than she ever could. Dana found that she didn't tire as quick as she use to.

She jumped over a few fences easily and a car even hit her once. Dana didn't feel a thing but there was a large dent in the hood of the car. The driver looked at her in surprise and she quickly apologized then took off running.

Finally when she figured that she was far enough, Dana decided to hide and rest. She sat there with dried blood coating her hands.

Images flashed through her mind. Dana clenched her fist and she shoved the images into the back of her mind, reminding herself that they deserved it. She pondered on what she would do now.

She was alone, she had butchered a squad of BlackWatch troops and Father Guerra was dead. On top of that, Pariah was nowhere to be found.

Dana couldn't exactly walk up to a random stranger and ask for help. They'll ask too many uncomfortable questions.

She buried her face in her hands and moaned. It was hopeless.

Suddenly, she heard some shuffling. Dana looked up and she saw an infected Walker shuffling its way towards her. Her heart jumped into her throat. She backed away from it but she bumped up against the end of the alleyway.

The Walker continued towards her slowly until suddenly it stopped a few feet away from her. It knelt down and bowed its head to her.

Dana blinked in surprise and stared at it for a moment. Suddenly a large bird that was covered in sores and growths landed on her shoulder.

It squawked and it nuzzled Dana's cheek. She wanted to push the bird away and run from the walker but something about them made her feel like she was among friends.

Dana gently stroked the bird's head muttering "Thanks" the bird squawked happily.

The walker lifted its head and motioned for her to follow.

Dana got her feet and she followed the walker. The walker lead her down an empty street and another alleyway until they reached the wall that separated the Yellow Zone from the Red.

At the base of the wall, there was a small hole where it looked like it was clawed open.

The Walker motioned for Dana to crawl through it. Dana questioned "Why?" and to her surprise, it responded in a raspy voice "_Safe. Keep you safe"_

Dana blinked in surprise "You can talk? And I can understand you?" she scratched her head muttering "This day gets better and better".

The Walker motioned to the small entryway hissing "_In, in. Go to the safe place"._

Dana hesitated for a moment. Her mind told her not to go but something else told her to. She went to the wall and she crawled underneath it. Once she was through, the Walker quickly covered up the entry and it shuffled away.

Dana got to her feet and she found herself staring into the eyes of a Hunter. She froze and waited for it to attack her. The hunter reached out and grabbed Dana.

Dana closed her eyes and waited for pain but nothing happened. She opened her eyes. The Hunter placed her on its back and it told her "_Hold on"_

Dana held on for dear life as the Hunter took off like a shot, heading deeper into the Red Zone.

* * *

In the Yellow Zone, Heller, Nightwing and Miss Martian walked up the front steps of Father Guerra's church.

When Heller saw that the front door was left open slightly, his arm turned into a blade and he barged into the chapel.

He saw that it was empty. There were candles scattered about but no one was around. Heller's foot bumped into something and he looked down.

It was a BlackWatch soldier with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Heller's heart sank into his stomach. He took off running, heading for the basement with Miss Martian and Nightwing in pursuit.

Heller found that the door was blown off its hinges and there were bodies scattered about the basement. It looked like it went through a firefight. Several soldiers had bullet wounds but Heller saw that some soldiers were hacked to bits.

Blood was splattered all over the place like paint. At the far end of the room, Heller saw Father Guerra. He rushed to the priest's side "Father" breathed Heller.

Heller scooped up Father Guerra and saw some blood oozing from his mouth.

The priest's body had multiple bullet wounds and he had bled profusely. Heller felt a pang of sadness. Even though he had been to war and saw many friends die, Heller felt bereft.

Father Guerra was his friend, he had helped him through some trouble in his life before the outbreak. The priest risked his life to help Heller and now he had paid the price.

Nightwing looked around the basement and he muttered, "What happened here?"

"That bitch was right. Rooks killed Father Guerra" growled Heller "I'm going to tear him apart"

Nightwing shook his head "Something doesn't seem right. What was BlackWatch doing here? For all they knew, Father Guerra was just some priest who caused trouble. They would observe him, not kill him"

"Sabrina did say that Rooks was apprehending anyone who was working with us" said Miss Martian "They probably thought we were undermining their authority"

Nightwing frowned "Still…something doesn't fit"

"What doesn't fit?" asked Heller as he placed the deceased priest on the cot "It seems open and shut to me. Rooks and his goons came in, they try and grab Father Guerra and he decides to fight back. They kill him and leave"

Nightwing nodded "Yes but there's something else. For instance, how did these soldiers get torn apart?" he motioned to some of the mangled corpses.

Heller frowned "And?" "And, why would Father Guerra fight back?" asked Nightwing "He could've easily escaped and covered his tracks, unless something kept him here and motivated him to fight".

Miss Martian noticed something tucked under the priest's leg. She plucked it from under his leg and held it up.

Miss Martian showed it to Heller and Nightwing "Bandages, they were used"

"So he was caring for somebody?" asked Heller. Nighting analyzed the bandages muttering "Probably…but who?"

Miss Martian noticed something else. It stuck out of one of the soldier's vests. She picked it up and her eyes widened.

Nightwing asked "What is it?" she showed it to Heller Nighwing. It was a black and white photo of Dana.

* * *

Back at the gymnasium, they discussed their findings with Superboy and Kaldur who were just as shocked as they were.

"You think Dana had something to do with that?" said Kaldur in surprise

"It's only a theory" said Nightwing.

Superboy frowned "If she is responsible, how was she able to kill all those soldiers?" they all thought for a moment and Heller said what was on their minds "Pariah, he must have done something to her"

"This is bad" muttered Kaldur "We must find Dana before she or anyone else gets hurt"

"And we should put an end to Pariah" added Superboy

"Count me in" said Heller.

Suddenly they heard the door to the gymnasium open. They looked towards the door and everyone prepared themselves for an attack from an army of BlackWatch soldiers.

But to their surprise, they saw only a man and a woman.

The man was dressed in a expensive black coat. He had dark hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes. The woman had short red hair, pale skin and light green eyes. She was dressed in expensive designer clothes.

The man looked around at the stunned heroes. He frowned "Well, I gotta say this is just sad. You guys should fire the janitors"

"Yeah and open a window" added the woman, waving a gloved hand over her nose.

Nightwing eyed the two suspiciously "Who are you? How did you find us?"

"It wasn't hard" said the man casually "We could smell you guys a mile away".

The man looked a little offended "And I'm surprised that you don't recognize us. I mean, I'm only the most hated monster in the world".

Miss Martian gasped. Everyone looked towards her and they saw her run up to the man and hugged him.

The man returned the hug saying, "Good to see you too kiddo".

Beast Boy looked the man and woman up and down saying "Ok, I'm confused. Who are you people?"

the man sighed and he introduced himself "My name is Alex Mercer" he motioned to the woman "This is my wife, Elizabeth Greene"

The redhead smiled and waved a little "How do you do?"

Nobody responded. They all just stared at the pair in shock.

End of chapter

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**(a/n: Dun, dun, dunnn! Alex and Elizabeth are back! anyway, i hoped you enjoyed this. Please review! Also Check out my new Bioshock/Young Justice Crossover!)**


	12. Ch 12: Mommy Fiercest

**(a/n: Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy!)**

* * *

Ch. 12: Mommy Fiercest

Alex Mercer stood there looking around at the stunned heroes.

He frowned "What? Is it my breath?" he breathed and he sniffed the air.

Nightwing was the first to speak "A-Alex? Is that really you?"

"The one and only" said Alex smiling

"H-how are you alive?" sputtered Blue Beetle "The nuke-"

"Oh that?" said Alex. He waved a hand "Please, the only thing the nuke did was gave me a nice tan"

Superboy looked at Elizabeth Greene in confusion and asked, "What is she doing here?" "Like I said, she's my wife" said Alex "We eloped years ago".

He shook his head "Honestly, you guys are a little slow today"

"Hold up!" said Miss Martian "Can you go back to the beginning and explain to us how you survived".

Alex grinned "Ok, pull up a seat and pay attention, its quite a long story". Alex took a deep breath and explained from the very beginning.

After the Team left Alex on the _USS Reagan _the nuke went off, incinerating both Alex and Elizabeth. Alex explained that they regenerated from some of their charred remains and they found themselves washed up miles down the coast. Elizabeth lost her connection with the Infected in New York after the blast.

After some arguing and debating, the two agreed to not kill each other and decided to travel together to try and find their place in the world. They hitchhiked along the coast till they came to an airport and they left the country under new names.

For two years they traveled around Europe, Asia and Africa. Three years after they left Manhattan, they arrived in Zurich where Alex and Elizabeth got married.

Alex sighed "We were in Italy when I got a call from Dr. Ragland, he told me that things are spiraling out of control here. I thought that I could stop by and help if I can. I mean, who better to help than Zeus and the mother of all the infected".

The team stared at Alex for a few silent moments. Nightwing looked to Elizabeth and he asked "Why are you here?"

"To help" said Elizabeth. Her voice was soft and sounded like a normal woman's voice. The Elizabeth Nightwing remembers was younger and more feral. The Elizabeth standing before them was slightly older, clean and healthy. Her hair was slightly longer and reached down to her shoulders, her eyes were light green and her face was free of blemishes.

Nightwing glanced to Alex. Alex looked older as well. He was taller and looked rested.

Superboy spoke "No offense, but I don't trust you"

"Oh?" said Elizabeth, her eyebrow arched. Kaldur nodded "Nor do I".

Elizabeth shrugged "I didn't really expect you too" "But" cut in Alex "If you want to put an end to this madness before this whole situation goes even further south, you'll need to trust her and me".

Heller nodded "I trust you Alex" he glanced at Elizabeth "Her, not so much"

"Fair enough" sighed Elizabeth.

Nightwing, Kaldur, Miss Martian and Superboy gathered together and discussed Alex's offer in hush tones. While they trusted Alex, they didn't trust Elizabeth, on the account that she tried to destroy the world.

Finally, Nightwing nodded "Ok, you can help but we're going to be watching Elizabeth closely"

"Ok" said Alex. He clapped his hands together saying, "Now than, what's the situation?"

* * *

Nightwing, Heller and the other senior members of the team led Alex and Elizabeth to a back room where they brought them up to speed.

When they finished, Alex shook his head saying "Its worse than I thought"

"I'll say" agreed Elizabeth.

Alex glanced to Nightwing "What's the game plan?"

"We find Caldwell, break him free of the brainwashing, find the one behind this outbreak and save Dana and Amaya" said Nightwing.

Alex frowned "Dana? What's she got to do with this?" Nightwing paused for a moment then he explained to Alex that Dana was kidnapped.

Alex's eyes widened a little. Elizabeth asked, "Who kidnapped her?"

"Some guy calling himself Pariah" said Superboy.

Elizabeth and Alex looked at each other in shock. Nightwing frowned "You know him?"

"Yeah, we know him" said Alex.

Superboy raised an eyebrow "Ok, who is he?" "Not important" said Alex quickly "First, we need to get Caldwell free of BlackWatch"

"How?" asked Miss Martian. Alex grinned, "I've got a plan".

* * *

In the Red Zone, Dana climbed off of the Hunter's back and she went down a set of stairs that led into an abandoned section of the subway system.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found that subway was now covered in fleshy biomatter.

Dana frowned a little, feeling a little hesitant about the subway but she heard a distant rumble approaching the subway entrance. As it grew louder and closer, Dana realized that it was a tank.

She hurried deeper into the subway tunnel, pushing through tangles of red fleshy veins that hung from the ceiling.

Dana heard voices and radio chatter coming from the entrance.

She hurried down the tunnel until she came to a dead end. Dana cursed and she ducked behind a pillar of flesh. She curled up and prayed that the soldiers would go away. Dana heard some footsteps and muttering. Suddenly there was silence. Dana frowned a little and waited. Again, there was nothing but silence.

She poked her head out from behind the pillar and she saw a gun aimed at her head. Holding the gun was a BlackWatch soldier who was flanked by several others. "Nowhere to run" growled the soldier "We got you now. Now get up and come with us".

Dana got up and she backed away from the soldier "Stay away, please leave me alone!"

"No can do" said the soldier "You're one of those freaks, you're a walking disease. Just like Mercer"

Dana scowled at the soldier "Shut up" "You and others like him are abominations," continued the soldier.

Dana snarled "Shut up".

The soldier cocked his head "Aw, what's wrong? Did I hit a nerve?"

"McKenzie I don't think…" said one of the soldiers but the soldier McKenzie silenced him with a glare.

Dana glared at the solider as he pressed on "You and Mercer are freaks. You don't belong in this world. Honestly, we're practically doing you a favor by taking you to Dr. Koenig. If it were up to me, I would nuke you just like that traitor".

Dana felt a burning hatred rising. She heard the hundreds of voices of people who verbally abused her for the past five years echoing around in her mind. Their insults and threats rattled around, their faces flashed before her eyes. Dana tried to be civil and polite but they repaid her with cruelty and indifference.

She remembered one time where some drunk, sweaty, angry idiot chased her out of her apartment with a loaded shotgun screaming about her being a terrorist. Now some lowly human was insulting her and desecrating the memory of her brother. It was then that Dana finally had enough.

Dana screamed, "I said shut up!" she launched herself at McKenzie and tackled him to the ground. Dana's hands turned into claws and she began digging into the soldier's chest. McKenzie screamed in agony.

His fellow soldiers moved to assist but they were suddenly attacked by a horde of Walkers. The Walkers overpowered the soldiers and began gnawing on their bodies, tearing away their body armor and gear then finally flesh.

Dana reached into McKenzie's chest and grabbed his heart. She gripped it tightly causing McKenzie to wince in pain.

Dana leaned forward and whispered into the dying soldier's ear "This is for my brother and my children".

She gripped the heart and she tore it out of McKenzie's chest. Dana saw a tiny, grey skinned infected approach her. It reminded her of a Gremlin.

She smiled warmly and handed the heart to the diminutive infected. The Gremlin accepted the heart and began nibbling away at it. Dana patted the Gremlin gently on the head. She looked up at the Walkers who stood there.

Slowly, Dana rose to her feet and spread her arms slowly saying "My children"

The Walkers all knelt down and bowed their heads saying only one word "_Mother"._

* * *

Caldwell stood alone in the empty section of the Yellow Zone, scanning for any infected. He suddenly heard a woman scream "Help! Somebody help!"

the super soldier took off running toward the scream. He rounded a corner and saw a red haired woman being chased by a grimy looking man in a hoody with a knife. The woman quickly got behind Caldwell sobbing "Don't let him get me"

"I won't" said Caldwell. The hooded man swung his knife at the super soldier and Caldwell caught it in his hand. He struck the man in the face, sending him flying across the street.

Caldwell fired a blast of heat vision at the man and burned a hole through his chest.

Once he was sure the man was neutralized, Caldwell turned to the red haired woman. She was young, had fair skin and light green eyes.

The woman looked up at Caldwell, her cheeks covered by long streaks of running mascara and said happily "Thank you!"

"No problem" said Caldwell in monotone. He felt something tap his shoulder.

Caldwell turned and was met with a familiar face. Alex Mercer.

Alex smiled "Hey buddy, miss me?" before Caldwell could do anything, a sweet scent invaded his nostrils and he suddenly lost control of his muscles. The super soldier crumpled to the ground, the world slowly growing dark.

Caldwell looked up and saw the woman and Alex looking down at him. The woman soothed "Sleep, just go to sleep".

Caldwell tried to fight it but he finally sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

Nightwing, Miss Martian, Heller and Kaldur emerged from their hiding places.

They saw the unconscious Caldwell and they looked to Alex in surprise. Nightwing asked, "How did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything" said Alex. He patted his wife on the shoulder saying, "She did it".

They looked to Elizabeth who was wiping away the runny mascara with a tissue. Elizabeth explained, "It's a new ability I learned. I emitted a scent that can knock out my prey for several hours"

"Prey?" questioned Miss Martian.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck and said nervously "Yeah, it's a long story." He looked down at the unconscious Caldwell and said, "We better get going before sleeping beauty wakes up".

Heller and Alex scooped up the unconscious super soldier. The group quickly vacated the street, heading back to the Bioship.

* * *

At the gym, Heller tied Caldwell down to a chair in the backroom. Alex rolled up his sleeves and told Heller to leave. Heller nodded and left Alex.

The former sergeant turn to leave but he saw Elizabeth sitting on a bench by the door. Heller scowled at her "What are you doing?"

"Waiting" said Elizabeth. She patted a part of the bench next to her saying "Sit"

Heller glared at her then he reluctantly sat down beside her. For several moments, they sat in complete silence.

Finally, after several minutes, Heller asked Elizabeth "So…you and Alex"

"Yes?" said Elizabeth, glancing at the sergeant

"How'd that happen?" asked Heller.

Elizabeth thought for a moment then shrugged "Don't know. Something just…clicked." She glanced at Heller "What about you? Do you have someone?"

Heller nodded slowly and said "Yeah but she died, in the first outbreak".

Elizabeth's expression softened "Oh…I'm sorry"

Heller looked at her in surprise "You're what?"

"Sorry" said Elizabeth sincerely "For what I did. I am terribly sorry". Heller raised an eyebrow. This Elizabeth seems to be very different from the Elizabeth he encountered during the first outbreak. The apology was something he never expected. Her remorse seemed sincere but Heller didn't know weather to trust her or not. Was she lying or was she serious?

Before Heller could speak, the door opened and Alex stepped outside. He sighed, "Done".

Heller went and told the others. They went to the backroom where Caldwell sat, blinking rapidly. He complained, "These lights are too bright"

"A minor side effect of breaking the mind control" said Alex.

Nightwing looked the super soldier in the eye and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah" grumbled Caldwell "Just peachy".

Miss Martian asked, "What happened? How did BlackWatch brainwash you?"

Caldwell was about to explain but he looked down at his bindings. He looked up at Nightwing and asked "Can you get me out of these?" "Sure" said Nightwing.

As Nightwing untied Caldwell, the super soldier explained how he was brainwashed. Caldwell was out on patrol in the Yellow Zone when he saw a woman being attacked by a pair of Walkers. After killing the Walkers, the woman stunned Caldwell and dragged him off to some laboratory where some hooded guy did something to him.

Caldwell shook his head a little "I can't remember much after that, everything was a blur. I remember attacking Justice League HQ and arresting your friends but after that" he shrugged.

Miss Martian asked Caldwell "Where are Batman and the others being held?"

Caldwell frowned and he thought for a moment then answered, "They're being held in a facility somewhere in Manhattan, where it is I have no clue".

Miss Martian sighed dejectedly. Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and assured her "We'll find them but first, we got bigger problems"

"We do?" asked Caldwell.

Alex nodded "Yeah. Dana"

Caldwell frowned "Did something happen to her?" Alex nodded. Nightwing turned to Alex and asked, "What is it?"

Alex shook his head slowly saying, "I'm not sure but…I sense that something is wrong."

"I'm sensing hatred" added Elizabeth "Hatred, rage, pain and loneliness. Something happened to Dana" her eyes narrowed "Something I experienced myself, long ago".

* * *

Night had fallen over the Red Zone. Pariah, Karen Archer and Sabrina descended the stairs that led into the subway Hive.

They trudged down the tunnel until they came to the dead end where they saw Dana, sitting on mound of bodies, cradling a Gremlin Infected in her arms and petting the Infected creature's head lovingly.

Pariah saw that her eyes were no longer icy blue. They were a rich shade of amber orange. Her clothes were covered in grime, blood and dirt. Dana had no shoes; she was barefoot and looked unbothered by the fact that she was sitting on a mound of corpses and holding an infected in her arms.

He spoke, sounding relieved "Dana, you're alive. Are you ok?"

"Yes" answered Dana in a hollow tone.

Pariah grinned, "I'm glad to hear that".

Dana rose from her seat, the Gremlin infected hopped out of her arms and skittered away. She walked over to Pariah and embraced him.

Dana said quietly as her voice started to break "I don't know what to do, I have nobody left. Alex is dead, Father Guerra is dead and everybody wants me dead. Everyone hates me."

"That's not true" said Sabrina.

Dana let Pariah go and she turned to her "I-it's not?"

Sabrina shook her head and she placed a hand on Dana's shoulder "No, its not" she waved a hand over to Karen and Pariah "You have us. You have Maya. We all care about you. We can be your family"

Dana glanced over to Karen and Pariah who nodded. She glanced back and saw some Walkers. The Walkers nodded.

Sabrina put an arm around Dana's shoulder "We know what you're going through"

"You do?" asked Dana.

Sabrina nodded, she held up a hand. Her hand changed into a claw then back to normal. Dana looked at Sabrina in shock. She glanced to Karen and Pariah. They both turned their hands into claws and back again.

Dana felt a little confused "H-how?" "BlackWatch" answered Karen in a grim tone "They destroyed our lives, snatched us from our families and made us into this. We tried to go home but they chased us away, calling us monsters and freaks"

"Now we have nothing" added Pariah "Except for each other".

Dana looked at the three in shock. For the past few days, her life had turn into a never-ending nightmare. Dana had seen good people die and she had been chased all over by soldiers who want her dead. She had been to a monster. Dana felt all alone and that the world was out to kill her. But now, she saw that Karen and Sabrina were like her.

Their lives were turned upside down and were hunted by BlackWatch. Maybe she didn't have to be alone; maybe she did have a new family.

Dana smiled a little "Thanks guys" "no problem" said Sabrina, playfully punching Dana on the arm

"We'll always have your back" said Karen patting Dana on the back.

Pariah nodded but he frowned a little.

Dana asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing" said Pariah "It's just…we don't have long" "What do you mean?' questioned Dana.

Pariah shook his head slowly saying, "Colonel Rooks is initiating BlackWatch's new contingency plan" "Which will probably end with all of us dead" added Karen.

Dana scowled "What?"

"Colonel Rooks' superiors in Washington think that the 'situation' is getting out of hand" said Sabrina "They're making preparations to kill everything in the Red Zone and Yellow Zone by bombing the hell out of us".

Karen nodded and said grimly "They also have Amaya" "What!" exclaimed Dana. Karen explained that BlackWatch attacked one of their hideouts and kidnapped Amaya along with several other people who they are planning on feeding to the infected.

Dana shook her head "They can't do that"

"They can't?" said Karen.

Dana snarled "No. Because I won't let them" her eyes began to glow dangerously and she growled "I will not let them kill a member of my family. Never again".

End of chapter

* * *

**(a/n: I hoped you enjoyed this. Please review!)**


	13. Ch 13: Before the Storm

**(a/n: here we go, we're almost to the end. Please enjoy. Sorry for the wait, i was busy and i also saw the new 'Man of Steel' movie, i thought it was ok. Please review!)**

* * *

Ch. 13: Before the Storm

Dana felt her heart thumping away in her chest.

She took a deep breath and pulled on her hood to hide her face then she jumped in line.

Dana was in the Yellow Zone, standing in line at a BlackWatch security checkpoint where uninfected could cross to and from the Green Zone. After leaving the safety of the Infected hive, Pariah, Karen, Sabrina and several other of the Evolved escorted Dana to the Yellow Zone.

While they journeyed towards the security checkpoint, Pariah gave Dana a crash course on her abilities.

She got the hang of transforming her arms into weaponry and her new strength. However, she was still getting used to her new senses.

Pariah asked Dana why she was heading to the Green Zone. She answered coldly "To finish them before they can finish us".

Pariah, Karen and Sabrina agreed wholeheartedly.

As they got closer to the checkpoint in the Yellow Zone, Pariah made a plan. Pariah and the Evolved will attack, drawing away most of BlackWatch's forces while Dana sneaks in, rescue Maya and kill Colonel Rooks.

When they arrived at the checkpoint, Pariah instructed Dana on another ability she had.

He explained that only she had this ability and if she were in trouble, she can use it to summon help.

Once she was prepared, Dana bid all the Evolved goodbye and left.

Dana finally reached the front of the line where a pair of soldiers in Hazmat suits scanned her with small handheld scanners.

Their scanners beeped and one soldier spoke "Infected" "Send her away" said the other soldier. They moved to remove Dana from the line when they stopped.

She removed her hood and regarded them coldly. The soldiers leveled their weapons at her "It's her!" said one of the soldiers.

Before they could fire on Dana, she focused on the people around her and triggered something within them.

Suddenly, the soldiers went rigid and they lowered their weapons. The two soldiers saluted her and they stepped aside "You may go"

"Thank you" she said curtly.

The people behind Dana stood there completely immobile. Their eyes were glassy and lifeless.

Once Dana was on the other side of the gates, the immobile civilians and soldiers shook themselves out of their daze and resumed as if nothing happened.

* * *

Pariah, Sabrina and the other Evolved watched as Dana crossed through the checkpoint safely.

Sabrina's eyebrows rose in surprise "That was easy"

"She's getting stronger" observed Karen.

Pariah nodded "Indeed" his tone became more worrisome "However, I'm afraid that the horrible after effects might take hold soon"

"You mean the psychotic episodes?" asked Elwood.

Pariah nodded again and he said, "Lets just hope that she doesn't end up like Jason" all the evolved nodded in agreement.

Jason was a fit twenty-year-old accountant who took a massive dose of White Light.

Unfortunately, the dose was too much for him to handle and it gave him a massive psychotic episode that ended with the deaths of three BlackWatch soldiers, an innocent bystander and two hunters who tried to subdue him. In the end, Jason attacked Pariah, accusing him of being a gigantic purple polar bear that ordered him to consume massive quantities of ice cream. The battle lasted seven seconds where Pariah tore Jason in half like a piece of paper and then ingested the remains.

Pariah turned to his other Evolved followers. Every available agent was present, all five hundred and thirty seven of them.

They packed the street behind the building they were hiding behind, stood on nearby rooftops and standing in dark alleyways.

Most of the Evolved were random homeless people that Pariah had found in the streets some were people from other states. Some were criminals; some were average everyday, law-abiding citizens who were unsatisfied with their bleak and dreary lives.

Others were people he rescued from the first outbreak and healed with the White Light virus.

They all shared Pariah's vision and they were all willing to fight and die for him. Elsewhere in the Yellow Zone, Pariah's right hand man Roland was gathering the rest of the followers. Some infected humans, the rest Evolved.

Beaming with pride, Pariah telepathically linked with all his supporters.

He announced "_Tonight is the night where things change. Right here, right now, we will tear away the weak, sickly, parasites that seek to destroy us. We will burn away the old world and from the ashes, we will begin anew. The Mother of our new world will lead us to Paradise!"_

The Evolved all bowed their heads and muttered reverently "The Mother shall lead us to Paradise_"_

Pariah reached out even further to the Red Zone and to the rivers. He sent out a single command "_Rise!"_

In the Red Zone, the hunters, the walkers, the brawler hunters, juggernauts, the gremlins, the flyers, and a dozen Goliath's heard the call.

They began to crawl out of their hives and dens.

They flooded the abandoned streets and they made their way to the barrier between the Yellow and Red zones.

In the rivers around Manhattan, a new type of infected emerged. They were called Leviathan.

They emerged from the murky depths of the river and they began slithering their way towards the docks.

Pariah, the Evolved, the BlackWatch guards and anyone else in the Yellow Zone heard the night being filled with blood curdling roars and screams.

The leader of the Evolved grinned menacingly and he said aloud "Unleash Hell".

The Evolved all nodded and they all took off. Like a flood of black and grey, they poured over the BlackWatch checkpoint and overwhelmed their defenses easily. The barriers between the Yellow and Red Zones crumbled beneath the combined might of the Infected horde of the Red Zone.

Fliers soared overhead, screeching loudly, Hunters, Brawler Hunters and Walkers bounded down the streets. Gremlins crawled out of storm drains and sewer openings.

One of the massive Goliath's stomped towards the checkpoint. The huge infected towered over most of the buildings in the Yellow Zone.

Pariah jumped high into the air and landed on its shoulder. He pointed forward toward the Green Zone saying, "Lets go big fella, your mama needs you".

* * *

Dana had finally infiltrated BlackWatch HQ. She traveled down a few quiet streets until she reached the towering building.

Dana slipped inside by turning into one of the soldiers she killed back at the hive. She made her way up to the upper floors where they had a few prisoners.

Looking through the small windows on the doors, Dana saw a few men, some women until she came to the cell at the end of the hall.

Inside, Dana saw Maya. Using her claw, she sliced open the door and changed back to her normal form.

Maya was surprised to see Dana "Dana? Is that you?"

Dana nodded and removed her hood "Yes".

Maya ran over to Dana and hugged her. She looked up at Dana and asked, "Where were you?"

"Around" answered Dana cryptically. Dana then said "Come on, lets go before-"

"Stop right there!" barked a voice.

Dana and Maya stopped. They turned and saw Lieutenant Riley at the other end of the hall, welding an assault rifle. He took aim at Dana "Don't move"

Dana's eyes narrowed and she told Maya "Take cover. Whatever you do, don't look until I say so" Maya obeyed and she hid back inside the cell.

Dana marched towards Riley. The Lieutenant ordered, "Stand down or I will shoot"

"Go ahead" sneered Dana.

Without hesitation, Riley shot a few rounds at Dana's head. The rounds ripped through her head and splattered blood and grey matter everywhere.

However, Dana kept marching. Riley's eyes widened in horror "Oh shit". He reached for a grenade that hung on his belt but Dana grabbed his wrist. Riley watched as Dana's face reformed itself and her eyes burn bright gold.

She snarled "Too late".

Dana twisted Riley's wrist and there was a loud snap. Riley screamed in agony and he sank to his knees.

Dana giggled a little. Hundreds of tendrils slithered out of her arms and back. They latched themselves onto Riley and they began to gnaw away at him. Riley struggled to break free but within seconds, the tendrils ripped him to shreds and absorbed his bio matter.

Dana felt a rush of Riley's emotions and memories. When she was finished, Dana turned to call out to Amaya but she froze.

Amaya was standing there with a look of horror on her face.

Dana realized that Amaya must've seen the whole scene. She stammered "A-Amaya…i-its not what it looks like"

Dana tried to approach Amaya and assure her that everything was fine but the girl turned and ran away. Dana stood there feeling confused and angry. She just saved Maya from being experimented on by BlackWatch and this was the thanks that she gives her rescuer? After all, they've known each other for years. The least Amaya could've done was say thanks. Instead, she betrayed Dana and left.

Dana snapped at the fleeing girl "Fine! Go! I don't need you, you weak, pathetic human!" she pulled her hood back on, turned on her heels and stomped away.

* * *

Amaya ran as fast as she could.

She was overjoyed to see Dana again but when she first saw her, Maya knew that something about Dana was different.

Dana was extremely pale and looked ill. Her eyes were, oddly, gold and she was barefoot. At first, Amaya dismissed it for Dana trying to blend in with the people of the Yellow Zone or something, but when she saw her friend take a bullet to the face and consume the soldier, it became clear that Dana was not herself.

How Dana got those powers, Amaya had no clue.

The only thing she could do was escape and find someone who can help.

Amaya ran down a long flight of stairs until she came to a fire exit.

When she went through the door, Amaya bumped into a familiar figure. Her eyes widened in shock and she breathed "Dad?"

* * *

Dana finally found the Colonel's office. She accessed Riley's memories and turned into the lieutenant to better sneak through the halls.

When she reached the colonel's office, Dana opened the door and slipped inside. Inside, the office was dark, illuminated only by the lamp on Rooks' desk.

The Colonel himself, sat at his desk, talking to somebody on the phone. Rooks looked up and held up a hand, asking his lieutenant a moment.

Dana decided to wait patiently.

The Colonel nodded a little "Yeah…uh huh…That's great" he smiled warmly and he asked "He did?"

the Colonel chuckled "Oh man…that's fantastic".

Dana heard a voice on the other side of the line say something. Rooks' smile slowly faded and he sighed, "Yeah…it's going to be a little longer than I thought…"

the Colonel spun his chair around, turning his back to Dana. Dana quickly shifted back to her normal form and turned her arm into a long, slim blade. She slowly approached Colonel Rooks but she paused when Colonel Rooks say "…Hey sweetheart"

Dana stopped and she listened to the Colonel's conversation.

Rooks chuckled a little "Yeah…your mom told me…that's just great" he listened for a moment then nodded slowly "Yeah. I'm afraid that I won't be back as soon as I had hoped but don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Rooks smiled "Take care of your little brother for me. I love you sweetie"

Dana lowered her blade and took a few steps back. She didn't expect that the head of BlackWatch to be so…human.

Compared to General Randall, Colonel Rooks seems to be a little more humane and caring. But what made Dana stop was the fact that he was a father. He had a wife, a daughter and a son who are waiting for him to come home. A thought crossed Dana's mind. She thought of the little girl waiting anxiously for her father to come home but she learns that he was brutally massacred by a monster.

Dana felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and hesitation. She knew what it was like to loose a beloved family member.

Quietly, Dana turned her arm back to normal and resumed the guise of Riley.

The Colonel hung up and he turned to Dana with a smile on his face. He nodded to the phone "My kids, they just wanted to say goodnight"

"Yeah" muttered Dana.

Rooks frowned "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing" said Dana quickly. She saluted Rooks and quickly left, leaving the Colonel very confused.

* * *

When she got out into the hall, Dana was tackled to the ground.

Dana reacted and kicked her attacker off of her. She jumped back onto her feet and saw Superboy.

The half kryptonian said "Drop the disguise, we know your not Riley".

Dana growled and she shifted back to normal. Superboy didn't react.

Dana was still wearing her hood and most of her face was covered in its shadow. All he saw were strands of black hair and a pair of luminous, golden eyes.

She hissed "Stay away from me" "Not a chance" said a new voice.

Dana saw Kaldur, Nightwing and Miss Martian arrive. Colonel Rooks stepped out into the hall. He saw Dana then the Team.

The Colonel frowned "What's going on?" "What does it look like, she's trying to kill you" said Superboy

Dana felt her blood boil.

They were the reason why Alex was dead. They were the reason she lost her legs in the first place. Dana wanted nothing more than to tear into them but suddenly the whole building rocked and there were loud screams coming from outside.

Suddenly, the section where the Colonel's office once resided was torn away, revealing a massive Goliath infected.

Standing on it's shoulder was Pariah. The leader of the Evolved looked to the Team and waved "Hi there!"

"Wait…what?" said Superboy in confusion. The young heroes looked from Pariah to Dana.

Nightwing asked "If Pariah's there-" he pointed to the Goliath then to Dana "Then who's that?"

Dana asked, "you don't recognize me?" nobody answered.

She hissed, "After all you have done to me, all that you have taken from me…the least you could do was remember me!" Dana pulled away her hood and everyone gasped.

Dana looked and sounded completely different to the team. Her features were extremely pale, as if someone had drained away all life and color from her. Her eyes were like two burning ambers and her voice was hoarse and cold.

Miss Martian stammered "H-how?"

"After I lost my legs in the explosion you caused-" growled Dana, jabbing an accusing finger at the team "I almost bled to death. But thankfully, Pariah was on hand. He cured me of my human frailties and made me something…more".

Nightwing frowned "What are you talking about?" he looked to Pariah, who was smirking the whole time.

Superboy argued, "We didn't have anything to do with you losing your legs"

"Please, believe us" pleaded Miss Martian "We only want to help you".

Dana snorted. She walked through the ruined doorway and across the remains of the Colonel's office, towards the Goliath saying coldly "You've done enough _helping_ already".

She was ready to jump to the Goliath when suddenly a familiar voice caused her to freeze "Dana!"

Dana saw Pariah go ridged and she even the Goliath freeze in place. Her heart thumped harder in her chest. She knew that voice.

Dana slowly turned and standing there, in the ruined doorway of what was left of Colonel Rooks' office was the one person she least expected.

Dana breathed in shock "Alex?"

Pariah muttered under his breath "Oh…shit".

End of chapter

* * *

**(a/n: What do you think? Sorry that it's short but whatever. Please review!)**


	14. Ch 14: Kill Everyone

**(a/n: Please enjoy and review!)**

* * *

Ch.14: Kill Everyone

The Green Zone was under attack.

From all sides, Infected and Evolved clashed with BlackWatch, the military, the Justice League and members of the Team.

Leading the charge was Sabrina Galloway. She easily cut through the human soldiers and allowed the infected to feast upon terrified citizens. The CFO took a minute to let the sights and sounds sink in.

It was finally happening. Years of planning and years of hiding were finally paying off.

Sabrina smiled and muttered "I do love the smell of slaughter in the morning". Suddenly a Brawler hunter was sent flying over her head.

The CFO scowled and she saw Superman cutting a path through her Infected troops.

Sabrina's smile widened "Now there's a challenge!" she turned both arms into blades and she broke into a sprint. She launched herself high into the air and she brought down both blades on the kryptonian's head.

* * *

Meanwhile at BlackWatch HQ, Dana stood in the ruined remains of Colonel Rooks' office, staring at Alex in shock.

Alex stood there, dressed in a black jacket, white t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes.

Dana didn't say anything. She was shocked to see her older brother. He looked a little older but it was definitely Alex.

After a few minutes of silence, Dana spoke "I-Is that you?"

Alex nodded "Yeah" he smiled a little "You've grown".

Dana looked him up and down asking "How are you alive?"

"The nuke" answered Alex "It wasn't as effective as Randall had hoped".

Dana's eyes widened "You…were alive the whole time?"

"Yeah" said Alex, slowly "I…I was"

"Then why didn't you come back?" asked his sister "Why didn't you try and clear your name?"

"It wouldn't have mattered" answered Alex. He sighed "People would've freaked out if I just shrugged off a nuke, they would've hunted us like animals. The only thing I could do to keep you safe was playing dead".

Dana looked down at her feet and she mumbled "Oh". She then looked up at Alex and scolded "Would it kill you to at least stop by or let me know that you were alive"

A look of guilt appeared on Alex's face. He said, "I thought you would be better off without me. I'm not human anymore, I'm a monster".

Dana shook her head "I don't care. You're my brother, I love you no matter what". She smiled a little "Besides, I'm not human anymore either. I'm kinda a monster myself"

Alex nodded "I noticed that" he frowned a little "Are your eyes suppose to be glowing like that?"

"Why, don't yours?" asked Dana. Alex shrugged. The two chuckled.

Dana then asked, "How do I know this isn't some trick?" "Believe him" said a familiar voice.

Dana glanced over to the Team and saw Heller standing there with Amaya. Heller said sincerely "He's the genuine article kid".

She still didn't trust the Team that much but she did trust James Heller.

The Team and the Heller's watched as the two siblings started to reconnect and catch up. Nightwing noticed that Pariah was starting to look a little twitchy.

* * *

Pariah stood on the Goliath's shoulder sweating like a sinner in church.

He did not foresee Alex coming back. If he didn't do anything soon, Pariah will lose everything. He hopped off of the Goliath and landed a few feet away from the two siblings.

Alex glanced to Pariah and he said calmly "I haven't forgotten about you" he turned to Pariah "You're the one who kidnapped my sister. You turned her into who she is"

"Guilty as charged" said Pariah, bowing his head a little.

Alex smiled a little "there's someone who wants a word with you"

"Pariah" said a new familiar voice. Pariah looked towards the door and saw Elizabeth Green push past the Team and Heller.

His heart almost jumped out through his throat. He breathed "Mother"

"Mother?!" exclaimed the team, Heller and Dana. Elizabeth nodded.

Everyone, except Elizabeth and Pariah, looked to Alex questioningly. Alex held up his hands defensively "Don't look at me…he's not my kid".

Pariah nodded "Yes, I am".

Before Alex could argue with Pariah, Superboy cut in "Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Allow me" said Colonel Rooks.

Rooks briefly explained, "Back during the Hope infection, General Randall found Elizabeth barricaded in the hospital with an army of infected. He discovered that the reason why she was in the heavily guarded hospital. She was going into labor" he nodded to Pariah "She was giving birth to him".

Everyone turned their questioning looks to Elizabeth and she just shrugged "What? It was the sixties and I was young and foolish"

"My head hurts" muttered Dana, rubbing her forehead.

Heller murmured "Mine too".

Alex sighed, "Anyway, when BlackWatch captured them, they locked them both away and studied their unique biology to perfect the Black Light virus". He then waved a dismissive hand "You guys know the rest of the story".

Superboy, Miss Martian, Nightwing and Kaldur stared at Pariah in astonishment.

The leader of the Evolved looked from Elizabeth to Alex asking, "What are you doing here?"

"To put an end to this madness" answered Elizabeth. She looked at her son disapprovingly "Honestly, mass slaughter and genocide? I thought I taught you better"

"You didn't" said Alex and Pariah in unison.

Elizabeth paused for a moment then remembered "Oh, right. Well, you should put a stop to this right now"

"But mother" said Pariah "I want to create a better world, for all of us. For our kind."

"We can" said Alex "Just not this way".

Pariah looked at his parents in shock. He asked "What? Why not?"

"We have spent the last five years among these people" said Elizabeth "Although they are weak, stupid and all around a major pain in the ass, they should at least be given a chance to clean up their act."

Alex nodded in agreement. Pariah considered his parent's words for a few silent moments. As they waited for Pariah to make up his mind, they all could hear the chaotic battle raging outside through out all of the Green Zone.

A helicopter hurtled past them, covered in flames and hundreds of Gremlin infected. Elizabeth watched the chopper crash into the river in the distance where a massive, wart encrusted tentacle breeched the surface and wrapped around the downed aircraft then pulled it to the murky depths.

Finally, Pariah looked up at his mother and father saying "No".

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow "No?"

"No, mother" said Pariah "I will not stop this. I am doing this for our family, for a better world". He turned to Alex saying, "Please, forgive me father".

Before they could react, Pariah whipped out a syringe and he drove it into Dana's jugular vein. Pariah pushed down on the plunger and flooded Dana's veins with the rest of the Monarch virus.

Alex quickly grabbed Pariah's arm and tore it clean off.

Pariah stumbled away, clutching the bloody socket where his arm once was. He said firmly "You'll thank me one day mother, father. You all will" he turned and he launched himself onto the Goliath.

Without being ordered, the Goliath quickly lumbered away.

Alex tossed aside the severed arm and he turned to Dana. Dana was rubbing her throat and her eyes were becoming unfocused. Nightwing and the others rushed in. Dana wobbled a little and she fell but Elizabeth caught her.

Kaldur saw that Dana was starting to convulse violently. He asked, "What's happening to her?"

"Pariah flooded Dana's blood stream with a strange variation of the Black Light virus" explained Elizabeth "I can sense that its overwhelming her"

"What's going to happen?" asked Miss Martian.

Alex explained "Either her body will shut down and she'll die or…"

"She'll have a violent, psychotic episode which will probably end with her body exploding" finished Elizabeth. Everyone stared at Elizabeth in shock.

Nightwing asked, "What can we do?"

"I'll try to help her" said Elizabeth "You chase down Pariah and stop him before he wipes out everyone you care about".

Nightwing nodded and he told the others "Lets go". Nightwing and the others left.

Heller asked Elizabeth "Will you watch over Amaya?"

Elizabeth nodded "Of course, I'll care for her as if she were my own" "That's not very reassuring" muttered Colonel Rooks.

Heller turned and left. When the team and Heller left, Alex turned to Elizabeth. She urged, "Go. I'll take care of her"

Alex nodded "Good luck". He turned and hurried after the Team.

Alex caught up with the team on the roof where the Bioship waited for them. The bioship took off.

From on high, the city was in chaos. In every direction, there was a battle raging on between Pariah's forces and the combined forces of the League and the military. So far, things were holding but not for long. A flock of flying infected tried to attack the bioship but Alex ordered them to leave using telepathy.

Nightwing looked to Alex "Did you do that?"

"Yep" answered Alex. Heller nodded approvingly "Nice".

* * *

Down below the Goliath stomped through the crowded streets, plowing through both human and infected.

Pariah clutched the bleeding hole where his arm used to be. He focused for a moment and a new arm instantly grew into place. The infected leader flexed his fingers and felt that it worked like normal.

Pariah had to turn this whole situation around. If he could hold on for just a little while longer, he will win this war and his mother and father will finally see that he was right.

Pariah searched the ocean of combatants telepathically. He sifted through thousands of minds until he found the right one "_Sabrina?" _

"_What?" _said Sabrina in a rather annoyed tone.

Pariah told her what happened and she gasped, "_They're back? Mother and Father are back?" _

_"Indeed they are my sister"_ said Pariah "_But they don't see the good in our cause. We need to show them that these humans are not the future, we are" _

"_How?" _asked Sabrina.

Pariah thought for a moment then said, "_Here's what you will do" _he then elaborated his plan to Sabrina.

After he finished explaining, Pariah asked, "_Got it?"_

"_Yeah" _said Sabrina. Pariah nodded and he broke the connection. He took a deep breath muttering to himself, "It's for the best".

* * *

At the ruined BlackWatch HQ, Elizabeth, Colonel Rooks and Amaya were by Dana's side.

She was sweating heavily and her breathing was ragged. Elizabeth was carefully trying to come up with a solution. She could easily produce an anti virus by using her own blood but it would take too long.

Eventually, Elizabeth decided to drain Dana of the virus. It was a risky process and it could kill Dana but it was her only option.

She told Colonel Rooks and Amaya to stand back. The two obeyed and took a couple of steps back. A pair of red tendrils slithered out of Elizabeth's hands and they latched themselves onto Dana's throat. Dana winced a little but didn't wake. Elizabeth closed her eyes and focused.

Slowly but surely, Elizabeth drew the virus out of Dana's blood and into her own system. She easily eliminated the virus once it entered her own blood.

A few moments passed and Elizabeth was only a quarter complete.

Suddenly, she heard a scream. Elizabeth's eyes flew open and she disconnected her tendrils. She jumped to her feet, quickly shifting her arm into its claw form. She spun around and sliced a hooded evolved in half.

She sensed that there was another one in the hall. Elizabeth went to the hall and saw a woman grabbing Amaya.

Elizabeth growled "Let her go"

"Sorry mother, I can't" said the woman "Not until you see the truth".

The woman turned and ran. Elizabeth gave chase until the woman dived out a large opening in the wall in one of the offices. She snarled in anger then she instantly sensed someone going after Dana. Elizabeth cursed and she quickly sprinted back.

Back at the Colonel's destroyed office, Elizabeth saw the Colonel fighting with another hooded evolved. The evolved saw Elizabeth and he quickly chucked the Colonel at her. Elizabeth caught Rooks and she was ready to rip the evolved apart but she saw that he was gone, as well as Dana.

Colonel Rooks mumbled to Elizabeth "Thanks"

"You're welcome" sniffed Elizabeth.

Suddenly, the colonel's radio crackled to life "_Colonel Rooks, this is Phoenix One. We are en route to deliver the Daybreak protocol, over"_

The Colonel's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed his radio and barked "Negative, negative, do not deploy the Daybreak protocol, over"

The voice responded "_No can do sir, orders came straight from the top sir". _

Colonel Rooks grunted, "Damn".

Elizabeth asked "What's the Daybreak protocol?"

"Our last resort" answered Rooks grimly "If things got out of hand, fighters will be scrambled and they will torch the entire city and burn away the infection"

"That won't work" said Elizabeth "Believe me, I know. It will hurt the infection a lot but it won't kill it entirely"

"I know that" said Rooks "Its an old protocol but the president still believes that it still works".

The colonel and the mother of the infected shared a worried look. Alex was going to be pissed.

* * *

The bioship soared over the Red Zone where hundreds of infected were continuously pouring out of the sewers and the ruined buildings.

Alex looked down at the vast state of ruin and decay. He whistled, "Someone's been a busy bee"

"Good to know that you approve of your son's work" said Heller. Alex rolled his eyes "He's not my son"

Heller smirked "Whatever you say".

Nightwing saw the Goliath lumbering through some destroyed buildings like they were nothing then finally slowing to a stop on a rooftop. Miss Martian carefully lowered the bioship onto the roof next to Pariah. The team disembarked the bioship.

Across from them, they saw Pariah standing there. Standing with him was a woman, a man and several hooded figures.

Pariah spoke "What are you doing father?"

"Trying to stop you from repeating your mother's mistake" replied Alex.

Pariah shook his head "Don't you see what we're doing? Humanity is stagnant, dying. Meanwhile these…Meta humans, Atlantians and aliens are picking apart what's left with their constant struggles and tampering. I seek to end that. I seek to bring peace and order. I want to create a utopia for our family, for our kind. Humanity has had its chance. It's our time now".

The leader of the evolved paused for a moment then continued, "Think about it, no more wars, disease, corruption and hatred. We will have utopia".

Alex shook his head "That's just it. You will be killing humanity before they reach their true potential. Humanity has potential to be much more"

"Really?" questioned Pariah "I don't see it. Sure the Meta gene is an improvement, but it's just a small anomaly that will fade eventually. Humans are nothing but cruel, vicious animals. They have no potential for greatness"

Alex scowled "I will stop you"

"I thought you would say that" said Pariah. He snapped his fingers and a figure stepped out from behind the line of hooded evolved.

Alex's eyebrows rose "Dana?" "What is she doing here?" muttered Heller.

Pariah snapped his fingers again. Dana's arms turned into claws and she launched at Alex.

Alex easily caught Dana's claws but she kicked him in the side, sending him flying over the edge of the building.

Dana dived off the roof to continue the fight with her brother.

* * *

Heller and the others turned their attention to Pariah.

Pariah extended his hand to Heller "You are one of us. Join us and you and your daughter will be safe. You will live in our new world"

Heller snarled "Never".

Pariah tilted his head "Why? I gave you everything. If you join us, you will not have to worry about anything. You and Amaya will live in peace"

"After you slaughter millions" hissed Miss Martian.

Pariah frowned and he asked, "What do you say? This is your last chance."

"My answer is still no" said Heller.

The leader of the Evolved shook his head "So disappointing" Pariah nodded to the woman. She pulled a small figure out from behind another of the evolved.

Heller's eyes widened "Maya?"

"Dad!" cried Maya but the woman quickly silenced her by placing her hand over the girl's mouth.

Anger flashed in Heller's eyes and he bellowed, "Give me back my daughter!"

Pariah shook his head "Not yet. You need to see something first, my brother"

"Enough rambling" said Superboy "Give us the kid or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

Pariah smiled "The hard way". He nodded to the woman.

The woman nodded back. She scooped up Amaya and took off running. She leapt from roof to roof, trying to get as far away as possible.

Pariah took a deep breath then suddenly, hundreds of massive tendrils shot out of his back. The tendrils wiped around him and they latched onto his Evolved followers. The tendrils wrapped around them and started to draw them closer to Pariah.

Nightwing and the others watched in horror as Pariah absorbed his own followers.

The evolved screamed in agony then vanished into a writhing mass of tendrils and biomass. Soon, the biomass and tendrils melted away, revealing Pariah.

Pariah was now in an armored form. His entire body was encased in a solid black rock like material. His arms had sharp spikes at the elbows and his hands had slim sharp claws for fingers. A smooth black visor of sorts shielded his face. All over his back were sharp, jagged spikes that looked like they could easily shred tank armor.

Superboy's eyebrows rose "That's new".

Heller grunted, "Who cares?" he launched himself at Pariah, swinging his blade arm wildly at him.

The blade struck Pariah each time but they made no visible marks. After a few swings, Pariah grabbed Heller's blade with one hand.

Heller muttered, "aw shit" Pariah drew back and punched Heller in the face.

* * *

Alex wrestled with Dana several stories below. Dana was quick, hyper and overall bloodthirsty but she as nowhere near as powerful as Alex.

Alex caught Dana's claw and he quickly muttered an apology then slugged her in the face.

Dana stumbled back. Her face had a large dent in it but it quickly vanished. Alex watched his sister growl like an animal and turn both her arms into hammer fists. Alex prepared himself for an attack but suddenly a shape dropped down and crashed between the two.

When the dust dissipated, Alex saw Caldwell.

Alex growled "About time you showed up"

"Sorry" said Caldwell "Traffic was murder".

Dana paused and stared at the super soldier. She frowned in confusion, trying to make sense at who she was staring at.

For a moment there was nothing. Then, Dana said softly "S-Samuel?"

"Hey Dana" said Caldwell "How're you?"

"W-what's happening?" asked Dana as she looked down at her hammer fists.

The super soldier held up his hands "Let me help you" he carefully approached her and she returned her hands to their normal state. Dana and Caldwell embraced. She began sobbing.

Alex asked, "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know" sobbed Dana. Probably a side effect of the virus overdose, thought Alex.

Without warning, Heller crashed landed a few feet away from them onto an old car. Heller got up and brushed metal and glass off of his coat.

Alex asked, "How's it going up there?"

"Just peachy" grumbled Heller. Alex smiled "I believe I can be of some assistance" he turned to Dana "But first, lets get your noggin back in order".

* * *

Back on the rooftop, The Team was fighting Pariah.

Superboy's punches had minimal effect, Miss Martian tried to use telepathy to peek into Pariah's mind but the armor blocked her thoughts.

Kaldur and Nightwing tried to strategize on how they can get past the armor's defensive capabilities but unfortunately each attack they throw at Pariah either bounced off him, had no effect or was redirected back at them.

Superboy was breathing heavily "This guy is tough"

"Everything has a weakness" said Nightwing "Even this guy"

"Doesn't seem that way to me" said Miss Martian.

Pariah let out a low growl and said in a deep voice "_Surrender while you can. You cannot win. If you give up now, I may allow you to live and be test subjects for my experiments" _

"Never" spat Nightiwing.

The armored Evolved tilted his head a little "_The end of humanity is near, why prolong the inevitable?" _

"If we're going to die, we'll die fighting" said Kaldur.

Pariah shook his head and let out a booming laugh that echoed around the Red Zone. Both his arms shifted into twin blades and he said, "_If you won't surrender, then I shall grant your wish. Join the rest of those primitive animals in extinction!" _he charged at the Team.

Each of his footsteps left a large dent in the concrete. He swung his blade at Superboy. Superboy managed to dodge but Pariah quickly jab an elbow spike between the half-kryptonian's ribs.

Miss Martian knocked Pariah back a few feet with her telekinesis but the Evolved was extremely heavy.

Pariah shifted one blade into a whip fist and he launched the whip fist at Miss Martian. The claws dug into her shoulder and Pariah whipped her around then released her, sending the Martian flying a block away.

Pariah slowly turned to face Nightwing and Kaldur "_Who's next?" _

"How about us?" said a voice. Pariah turned and he was met with a fist to his face. The Evolved stumbled back slightly and a hammer fist slammed into his gut. Pariah was knocked back a little and without warning, Heller tackled Pariah and began pummeling Pariah's face with hammer fist.

Nightwing looked up and saw Dana, Caldwell and Alex.

After pummeling the armored Evolved, Heller growled, "Had enough?"

"_Nope" _said Pariah. He kicked Heller off of him and he got up. Pariah's visor slid away, revealing his true face. He had grey skin, short red hair, blue eyes and small black spikes growing out of his cheek.

Pariah let out an earsplitting howl that echoed through the entire city.

The team heard thousands of howls responding. From all across the city, the Infected and the Evolved retreated to the Red Zone and surrounded the building that they were standing on.

Pariah then said, his voice echoed with dozens of others "_You see, even if I die, others will take my place. My brothers and sisters will continue my mission. I will destroy humanity, I will burn away this sick, diseased world of man and build a new one from its ashes! I will save my family from this dying world!" _

Pariah's visor slid back over his face and he turned one arm into a blade, the other into a sort of shield. He growled "_Come on"_

Alex cracked his knuckles "I believe its time for a bit of father, son bonding time".

Alex's body began to shift and he switched to an armor form similar to Pariah's. He turned to the other and said in a deep voice "_Stay back, this could get messy"_

Dana nodded and the others nodded. Dana, Caldwell and the Team quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Heller switched to his own armor form as well. He stepped up next to Alex. Alex glanced to Heller saying "_Lets put this bad boy to bed" _

_"Lets" _said Heller nodding. The two summoned their own blade arms and shields and they attacked.

* * *

Sabrina and Amaya watched from the safety of a building that was far enough for the two to watch without getting harmed in the battle.

Sabrina watched in amazement as Pariah battle their father in his armor form.

Alex easily blocked Pariah's attacks. He shattered her brother's blade arm with a single strike and he managed to crack a section of Pariah's armor with a single swing of his own sword.

Sabrina knew Alex was powerful but he was far stronger than she had ever realized. She was also impressed at how Heller was fairing. He was holding his own and he kept Pariah off balance.

Pariah was barely keeping up with their well-timed strikes. Sabrina was worried that he'll lose but she a small bit of hope that somehow Pariah will win.

Amaya was silently cheering for her dad and Alex. She had grown to know Pariah over the past few days and thought he was a good friend. In the end, he turned out to be a vicious, insane monster that turned Dana insane and was plotting to destroy the world.

The two saw Pariah unleash a devastating barrage of attacks with thousands of tendrils that emerged from his back. Alex gracefully dodged some and ripped apart the other tendrils.

Heller just ripped through them with his claws snarling, "_I'm going to kill you, you slimly little bastard!"_

"My, someone has a temper" remarked a voice.

Sabrina and Amaya turned and saw the redhead from back at the ruined destroyed BlackWatch HQ.

Sabrina gulped "M-mother"

Elizabeth nodded "Yes, you are one of my children aren't you? I have so many, its so hard to keep track". Her eyes narrowed "Hand over Amaya, would you please?"

Sabrina was under strict orders not to let the girl out of her sight but Elizabeth was far stronger than Sabrina could ever hope to be and she could take the girl by force. Reluctantly, Sabrina stepped away from Amaya and the girl ran over to Elizabeth's side.

The redhead knelt down and told Amaya "Close your eyes sweetie, don't open them no matter what. Promise me"

Amaya nodded. She covered her eyes with her hands.

Elizabeth rose and she walked over to Sabrina saying, "You know, I could kill you or devour you" Sabrina nodded slowly and she started to sweat.

Elizabeth then said "However, that was the old me. The new me sees that you have potential for greatness. So, I have decided to give you a clean slate. A fresh start at life."

Without warning, thousands of tendrils slithered out from Elizabeth and quickly ensnared Sabrina.

The tendrils wrapped around her and the world began to grow dark.

As the world slowly grew dark, Sabrina heard Elizabeth remark, "I've always wanted a daughter…"

* * *

Pariah stood there gasping for breath. Parts of his armor had crumbled away, exposing his normal form underneath.

His blade arm was now a short, jagged blade. Alex's armor was barely nicked and Heller looked ready to continue fighting.

The leader of the evolved wheezed "_Why? Father…why?" _

"_I'm sorry Pariah" _said Alex "_But this needs to end now. Your mother tried to do this but I showed her that humanity still has potential for good"_

"_They don't" _hissed Pariah "_They're nothing but a pack of animals who need little excuse to kill" _

Alex shrugged "_Maybe but I don't see that. Maybe with time, they'll grow into something better". _

Pariah shook his head "_You'll see father, one day. You'll see that I was right". _

Alex sighed and said quietly "_I hope that day never comes". _He marched up to Pariah and he grabbed Pariah's visor then ripped it away easily. Pariah's blue eyes widened in horror and his face almost went white.

Alex placed his hand on top of Pariah's head saying softly "_Goodbye, son"_

_ "Dad…"_ said Pariah almost pleadingly.

But Alex didn't listen. He pulled his hand away and he turned on his heel then walked away.

Heller frowned in confusion as to what had just happened. Then he watched as Pariah's armor crumble away into a pile around him. His body began to convulse and his skin started to grow dark. Visible black veins started to appear all over Pariah's body.

Pariah began to howl in pain and black goo began to gush from his mouth and ears. His body quaked violently and his skin began to split.

Then without warning, Pariah exploded in a shower of black goo and red liquid.

Everything went silent. The Infected and Evolved down below sensed Pariah's death. Alex looked out to the thousands of Infected.

The Infected and Evolved all bowed their heads in fear and respect to their father.

Alex sighed and quickly shifted out of his armor, back to his normal form "That takes care of that"

"That was kind of brutal" said Heller nodding to the black and red smear that used to be Pariah.

Alex nodded "It was a tad harsh but I could not let his actions go without punishment. I would've consumed him but I figured that this was a more appropriate punishment".

Heller shook his head muttering, "Damn".

The Team, Dana and Caldwell returned to the building. Dana ran over and hugged the two saying "We saw the whole thing"

"That was kind of awesome" said Caldwell.

Miss Martian asked, "What did you do to him?"

"Made his body go into overload" said Alex "I call it my bio-bomb".

Heller spoke up "We need to go after Amaya, that bastard's friend still has her"

"Actually no, she doesn't" said a new voice. Alex, Heller and the others turned and saw Elizabeth walking over to them, carrying Amaya in her arms.

Elizabeth set Amaya down and she rushed over to her father. The two embraced. Heller held his daughter close saying, "I'm never going to lose you again".

In the distance, they heard the rumble of aircraft engines. Elizabeth muttered, "They're early"

"What?" asked Alex. Elizabeth explained the Daylight Protocol and that Colonel Rooks was trying all he can to halt the air strike but all he could do was have them target the largest concentration of Infected. Which would happen to be their current location in the Red Zone.

Alex shook his head "Here we go again" he turned to the Team and Heller "Go"

Miss Martian, asked "Aren't you coming with us?"

Alex shook his head "Can't. If people saw us alive, then the life we built for the past five years will be destroyed"

"I'm not going anywhere" said Dana

"Me neither" said Caldwell.

Before the team could argue, they saw a squadron of almost twenty jets in the distance. Alex said more urgently "Go! Now!"

The Team rushed back to the bioship.

Heller extended a hand to Alex "See you around?" "Expect us to pop in every once in a while" said Alex, shaking Heller's hand.

Heller shook hands with Elizabeth and thanked her for saving Amaya. The two said goodbye to Dana and Caldwell then hurried aboard the bioship. Alex, Elizabeth, Caldwell and Dana watched as the bioship take off, then accelerating away from the Red Zone.

* * *

Once the bioship was far away, Dana turned Alex and asked, "What does it feel like? Being bombed?"

"It feels like being hit by water balloons" said Alex casually "Except, the bombs kind of sting a little bit but you'll shrugged it off, thanks to your new and improved regenerative systems".

Dana's eyebrows shot up "Wait, I'm stuck like this?"

"Yeah" said Elizabeth slowly "The Black Light virus is permanently bonded to your DNA, no going back to being plain, boring old you".

Dana thought for a moment then shrugged "Ok"

"You're taking this rather well" said Alex.

Dana smiled at her brother "That's because I'm more mature than you"

Alex rolled his eyes "Oh please, I'm way more mature than you".

Caldwell chuckled a little saying "You have the weirdest family ever".

As the Jets grew closer, Alex and his family ran through the Red Zone and ducked down into a nearby sewer entrance.

* * *

The Jets were now overhead. They had marked their targets and unleashed their payload.

The bombs detonated on impact, bathing the Red Zone in fire.

Thousands of Infected and Evolved burned, screaming in agony.

The Jets circled around and dropped a load of bombs containing a refined poison that was lethal to both infected and humans.

Slowly the infected and Evolved burned. Some managed to retreat to safety but the rest burned and choked to death.

End of Chapter

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**(a/n: Well what do you think? Up next is the epilog. so, review!)**


	15. Epilog

**(a/n: Well, here we go. the final part. Enjoy and review!)**

* * *

Epilog

Superman, Batman and the rest of the Justice League were up in the Watchtower, watching the live news footage of the completion of the reconstruction of Manhattan on a massive holographic screen.

It had been nine and a half months since the end of the second outbreak and the death of Pariah.

After the air force had fire bombed the Red Zone, BlackWatch, the Military and the Justice League combed the charred ruins of the Red Zone for survivors. But they found no trace of any surviving Infected or Evolved.

However, they found a hidden laboratory, which contained blueprints to the cure for the strain of the Black Light virus that was currently plaguing Manhattan.

During the debriefing, Nightwing told Superman and the League that Alex Mercer and Elizabeth Green were alive. He explained that the two had been alive for the past five years and Alex had convinced Elizabeth to give up on trying to exterminate humanity.

Superman asked what happened to them after the bombing but Nightwing shrugged and replied, "I don't know".

When Nightwing told the league and the Team that Pariah was Elizabeth's son, needless to say, nobody saw it coming.

Public relations between the League and the world had slowly returning to normal. Three days after the bombing, an anonymous tipper gave Godfrey some evidence to prove the League's innocence and reveal that the true culprit behind the outbreak was Pariah.

Even though Godfrey corrected himself and apologized to the league, he still was able to make the league somehow responsible for part of the outbreak.

Despite that, the League was happy to have the public on their side and they had Alex to thank for it.

Superman, Batman and a few of members of the League made Alex and Elizabeth honorary members of the League. If they could find them, the league would make them official members.

The casualties for Pariah's attack on the Green Zone was staggering. Hundreds of soldiers and civilians died, thousands more were injured badly.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the League, the Military and several non profit groups, they were able to heal the wounded and cure those infected with Black Light by using the vaccine they created based off of the blueprints found in that they found.

Manhattan slowly rebuilt and was able to recover from the outbreak.

As the League watched the mayor give a speech commemorating the completion of the reconstruction and honoring those who died in the battle, Superman glanced to Batman and asked, "Where do you think they went? Mercer and Green?"

Batman answered, "I'm not sure. They're very elusive. They can be anywhere in the world right now".

* * *

Alex and Elizabeth sat on a bench in Central Park, waiting for Dana, Caldwell, Heller, Amaya and Ragland to arrive.

Elizabeth was cradling a small bundle of blankets in her arms.

Alex glanced to his wife "How is she?" "She's sleeping," said Elizabeth.

Alex sighed in relief muttering "Finally".

Several minutes passed. A couple passed them, children were playing nearby and a woman jogged by.

Life in Manhattan had returned to normal.

Alex, Elizabeth, Dana and Caldwell managed to escape Manhattan and the firebombs. A few Infected and Evolved had followed them, begging to go with them. Most of the Evolved had no homes to go to and some of them were too young to fend for themselves. The Infected had no leader to guide them and would eventually die off or would start another plague somewhere.

Reluctantly, Alex and Elizabeth agreed to let them go with them.

They traveled north until they found an isolated area in a isolated mountain range where they settled down and avoid human civilization.

As the months passed, Alex and Dana parted ways. She wanted to tie up some loose ends before she wanted to start her new life.

Alex later heard that Dana and Caldwell got married. He jokingly threatened to bio-bomb the super soldier if he mistreats Dana.

Several more minutes passed and Dana and the others arrived.

Dana looked healthy and happy. Amaya was a few inches taller and looked a little older than the last time they saw her. Ragland was the same.

Alex and Elizabeth greeted them.

Dana noticed the small bundle in Elizabeth's arms and asked "I-is that what I think it is?"

"Yep" said Alex, nodding. He gestured to the bundle "Dana, meet your niece".

Elizabeth carefully handed her daughter to Dana. Dana carefully inspected the infant. She was small, pale and had some strands of black hair.

She cooed "Aww, she's adorable"

"She's beautiful" commented Ragland.

"What's her name?" asked Heller

"Sabrina" answered Elizabeth "Sabrina G. Mercer"

Dana smiled "Nice name".

Alex spoke up "So…what are we doing here?"

"I thought that we should have a little lunch together" said Dana "You know, to catch up and enjoy ourselves".

Alex, Heller, Ragland and Caldwell nodded. "Sounds good to me" said Alex.

Elizabeth asked, "What's for lunch?"

"How about…pizza?" suggested Amaya. She pointed to a pizzeria that just opened a cross the street.

Dana smiled "That's just perfect". Together, they left Central park and went to the pizzeria. Caldwell and Dana were busy debating on who's going to be holding Sabrina and discussing the possibility of settling down and starting a family.

Elizabeth and Alex were being lectured by Heller on being parents and how to properly raise their daughter, considering that their last child unleashed a horrible plague and tried to exterminate all life on the planet. Ragland and Amaya followed closely behind them.

When they reached the Pizzeria, Caldwell said "Not buying"

"Not buying" chimed Heller, Elizabeth, Dana and Ragland. Alex sighed "Fine, i'll pay for the pizzas" as they all cheered, he quietly added "Freeloaders".

The end.

* * *

**(a/n: So, what do you think? Sorry if it wasn't so good. Please review!)**


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